Monsters in the Shadows
by smush68
Summary: Set during Hiatus. Abby gets into trouble,but doesn't tell her friends on Team DiNozzo. Tony has a hard time accepting it. bad summary, good story! Rated T/M for later chapters. could be friendship,could be TAbby.  COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first (published) story of any kind. I've had a few chapters kind of thrown together for a while now, and it was only after trading PMs with fellow excellent writer, MoonlightGypsy (read her stories - she's AWESOME!), that I got up the nerve to put fingers to keyboard and put one of my babies out for public consumption. I'm near "riding the porcelain bus" stage, here, so keep in mind that I'm a newbie when you review. Hope ya'll like it, and if you think it sucks, send the bad reviews to MoonlightGypsy - it's all her fault this story is here!**

**Takes place during Hiatus Rated T/M for later chapters**

** MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stood in Bethesda Naval Hospital at the bedside of a beautiful young woman. Well, once she had been beautiful, he thought with a wince, as he ran the back of a finger softly down her bruised swollen cheek, upset with himself for not being able to prevent the bruise. Upset with the young woman for not coming to him sooner so he could have stopped it from happening. "Dammit, Abby," he whispered, "why couldn't you have trusted me?"**

**The door to the hospital room silently swished open, the two newcomers pretending not to notice as their boss wiped a tear from his cheek. "Hey Boss," murmured Tim McGee, the SIC. "Any change?" **

**Tony took a moment to shut down his emotions before answering his SIC. "Doctors say she's stable, they'll know more when she wakes up." IF she wakes up, he thought to himself.**

**The quiet voice of Ziva David spoke from behind him. "The scumbag is in interrogation. Shall I … **_**interrogate**_**… him?" She would enjoy showing that bastard all the damage she could do the human body with a mere paperclip.**

**With a small smile, Tony said, "We want him alive, Officer David." He took a moment to run his hand over Abby's hair. "I'll be doing the interrogation myself." He looked at his agents. "I want one of you here at all times with her. The other, working on the case. I want this so airtight Casper the Ghost couldn't get through it."**

**Both agents nodded solemnly. "You got it, Boss," "We will, Tony." As Tony left the room, McGee moved next to the bed, wincing as he took in the injuries Abby had received. "Why didn't she tell us, Ziva?"**

**Standing on the opposite side of the bed, Ziva held Abby's hand. "I do not know, McGee. Perhaps she thought she could handle it on her own." She and Abby may not have been the best of friends, but Ziva liked to think they were making headway recently.**

"**I would have helped her," McGee grimaced. Ziva looked up at him. "**_**We**_** would have helped her, McGee. We are a team, yes? And no one messes with our team ascot." **

**McGee raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment. "I think you mean 'mascot,' Ziva."**

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

**As the door closed behind him, Tony leaned against it, wearily shutting his eyes. "How is she?" He scrubbed a hand down his face and looked at NCIS Director, Jenny Shepard. "About as well as anyone who's been tied to a bed and beaten repeatedly for days can be," he answered. Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Director," he said, "I'm not in the best of moods right now."**

**The Director gave him a small, sad smile. "You know the rule about apologies. Besides, I understand. I'm not feeling particularly cordial myself." **

"**The doctor says she's stable," Tony said on a sigh, "but she looks like hell, Jenny."**

**Jenny put a hand on his shoulder. "Abby's a fighter, Tony. She'll pull through this." She knew it was eating him up inside that someone had hurt the woman who, for all intents and purposes, was his little sister. "Whatever you need, every available resource of NCIS, is yours to use."**

**Tony straightened up to his full height. "Thanks, Jenny, but Ziva already has the bastard cooling his heels in interrogation, so we're good. I was just about to go teach him what happens when you fuck with Team Gi…. Team DiNozzo."**

**Jenny was shocked. Oh,not that Tony would want to do the interrogation himself, but that he wouldn't rather stay with Abby. It was no secret how close those two were, especially now, with Gibbs gone. "Are you sure you want to…"**

"**Want to **_**what,**_**" Tony snarled. "My interrogation skills not up to those of the Great Leroy Jethro Gibbs? I know how to question a suspect, Director."**

**The poor kid, Jenny thought to herself. Even after all this time as Supervisory Agent, he still feels he has to prove himself. "I know you do, Agent DiNozzo," she assured him. " I have every confidence in your abilities. I just thought you would rather be here for Abby when she wakes up. She'll need you."**

**Tony straightened up from the door and began walking away without looking back. "She's made it pretty clear she doesn't need anyone."**


	2. Chapter 2

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter Two**

**The squeeze of fingers around her neck jolted forensic specialist Abby Sciuto straight up, gasping, grabbing at invisible hands.**

"**It is ok, Abby, you are in the hospital," Ziva's soft voice said near her ear. "You are safe."**

**Abby's eyes scanned the room wildly as Ziva's words sunk in. "Wh…what hap..pened?" she croaked.**

**Ziva scooted her chair closer to the bed. "You were attacked, Abby. Kidnapped by that scu…." she censored herself, "by your ex-boyfriend."**

**Tears welled in Abby's eyes, and one escaped down her cheek. She put a hand to her throat, only able to imagine the bruising that must ring around it. "What did… did he…?"**

**This was never easy, Ziva thought with a grimace. That something like this happened to a friend-HER friend-made it even worse. She looked at their clasped hands as she cleared her throat. "What do you remember? All we know is what we saw on the garage video cameras when you were….taken."**

**Abby started to cry. "I'm not… n-n-not sure," she rasped as she wiped her bruised cheek, cringing with pain. "It's all fuzzy…." Her eyes pleaded with her friend.**

"**Oh! I am sorry, would you like some water? It may help your throat." Ziva held the cup as Abby sipped. "With your injuries, it is not surprising things are a bit…. Fuzzy, yes? It will come back in time." She smoothed a lock of Abby's hair back. "I am going to call McGee and let him and the Director know you are awake. The doctor, too." Stroking Abby's lesser-bruised cheek she said, "I will not be far, just outside the door if you need me." With a final squeeze of her friend's hand, she walked out of the room, phone already in hand.**

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

**Ziva had only just left the room, but already Abby was feeling scared. She reached up for the cord and turned on the light, the sharp pain making her scrunch her eyes shut. Opening them slowly she realized that the light only created more shadows, more dark places where someone could hide. Oh God, she hated feeling like this-it just wasn't her.**

**Shadows began shimmering, and she just **_**knew**_** there was someone dancing between the dark spots around the room. Her breathing got faster, and Abby began to hyperventilate. The beeping of the monitors brought Ziva and the doctor rushing in.**

**It truly bothered the (some would say) hardened Mossad officer to see her friend so panicked. "It is ok, Abby. You are ok. No one will hurt you while I am here." She could see her words sink in as Abby began to calm, her breathing returning slowly back to normal. "I am just as deadly with a hairpin as I am with a paper clip," she said, hoping to make Abby relax. It worked, as Abby gave a small, relieved smile. "McGee and the Director are on their way," Ziva said. "They shall be here soon."**

"**Tony?" Abby asked hopeful. If her big brother Tony were here, everything would be ok.**

**Tact had never been Ziva's best trait, but she tried. "He is, uh…." she stalled, "he is interrogating the man that did this to you. Perhaps when he is finished, he shall come up." **

**Another tear slipped down Abby's cheek. She hoped Tony got here soon - he would chase away the monsters in the shadows.**

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

**Tony stood in the observation room observing the scumbag that hurt their Abby. The only problem was, he didn't **_**look**_** like a scumbag. Dressed in a perfectly tailored gray Armani suit, pale blue shirt, and royal blue tie, he looked more like he belonged on Capitol Hill. Which instantly made Tony suspicious. What was a slick dude like this doing, dating Abby? They were complete polar opposites.**

**Jenny Shephard joined him in observation. "So, this is the 'scumbag'?" Tony's eyes never left the view in the window, silently taking this guy's measure. "Yep. He doesn't look like a kidnapping, torturing, psycho." **

**Jenny looked at Tony out of the corner of her eye, a small smile playing on her lips. "Neither did Ted Bundy or Sam Berkowitz."**

"**True," Tony agreed.**

"**Actually," Jenny began, "he kind of looks like **_**you**_**, Tony," she teased.**

**Giving the director a dirty look, Tony smoothed his lapels and adjusted his sleeves. No wonder the jerk looked familiar, he thought uncomfortably. "Pffff," he scoffed. "Who wears that color shirt with that tie, anyway?"**

**Turning her back to the window, Jenny studied Tony. "Can you be objective about this interrogation, Tony? If it were anyone other than Abby, I wouldn't ask."**

**Tony straightened his tie, checked his hair in the mirrored window. "Not a problem," he said, detached. He opens the door to leave observation and turns back for a moment. "I'll handle it just like Gibbs would," the door quietly closing behind him.**

"**That's what I'm afraid of," Jenny worries, looking back to the interrogation room.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow! I'm having a Sally Fields Oscar Speech moment - "You like it, you really, really like it!" - to paraphrase. (Apologies to Sally) Want to thank my first "fans", those who took the time to Alert or Favorite the story, and the reviews. This means YOU: a-rab; sorgina13; STLFan; lovinlife48; kdjane; allenT; narumi112; Spanish girl; and the one who provided the kick in the butt to get me going, Moonlight Gypsy (any flamers or snarky reviews can still go to her!). I hope you find the rest of the story just as intriguing. Now, on with our story….(long chapter - beware!)**

****Rated M for sexual situations and foul language. Read at your own risk.****

**Monsters in the Shadows**

**Chapter 3 - - Interrogation**

**Thad Bensonhurst,III, barely looked up as the door to the interrogation room opened and a well-dressed man - much like himself - entered. Well, ok, to be honest - and TB3 (as he called himself) was nothing if not honest - maybe this guy was just a bit more polished than he, himself. MAYBE. At least this agent, this… DiNozzo, would be easy to talk to - like speaks to like, money to money. Not like that foreign bitch that pushed him in here.**

**Thad smiled slightly as he thought about her. She was a feisty one. He'd love to get a piece of that ass - bet she was an animal in bed.**

**Tony sat across from Bensonhurst, barely restraining his anger. He knew guys like this. Hell, on the outside, he **_**was**_** a guy like this - guys that believed their money entitled them to the world, no matter who got stepped on in the process. He's betting 'Trust Fund Thad' is thinking the same about him.**

"**Finally," Thad said jovially. "I was beginning to think I'd been forgotten in here."**

'**I wish', thought Tony to himself. "Sorry about that, Thad - can I call you Thad?" He continued on at Bensonhurst's nod. "There was a little miscommunication. Has someone been in to look at that?" Tony asked, pointing to the suspect's left hand, where it appeared as if more than one finger was sprained, if not broken, courtesy of Ziva.**

**Bensonhurst looked down, as if he'd forgotten all about it. "Oh, nah, it's good. A sprain or 2, nothing serious."**

**Tony played along, building a rapport with the jerk. "You sure? Our doctor is top-notch…. No? Ok. And just to let you know, Officer David has been reprimanded for the way she treated you as she brought you in. This is not how NCIS treats people, suspect or not."**

'**TFT III' (as Tony was beginning to think of him in his head) smirked. Oh yeah, this was going to be a cake-walk. "Not too severely, I hope." He leaned in as if sharing a secret. "Must be that 'time of the month', eh? You know how un-rational women can be then," he said with a wink.**

**Tony chuckled. He had the creep hooked. "Ha, ha, yeah. That, or the fact that she's an Israeli Mossad assassin," he said with a smirk, as TFT III's smile faded away. He pulled a stock photo of Abby out of the folder in front of him and set it so Thad could see it. "Know her?"**

**Bensonhurst made a show of examining the photo. "Mmmmm, don't think so. Cute but… not quite my type," he said cockily.**

**Tony put out a few more pre-attack photos of Abby. "Are you **_**sure**_** you've never seen her? Abby Sciuto…. " TFT thought quick on his feet, Tony would give him that much, as he tried to save himself. "Ohhhh, yeah, yes, Abby! Yes, yes, I do know her. Well," Thad backpedaled perfectly, "not **_**well**_**, but we've spoken, had lunch once or twice."**

**Pulling out a picture of Abby in full Goth garb, Tony danced it in front of Thad, and turned into 'Ladykiller Tony.' "Just lunch? C'mon Thad, buddy, ol' pal," he turned the picture and looked at it, sucked in a breath with a whistle. "Girls like this? You know they want more than just lunch…" He winked at Thad. "And this one?" He leered as he gave the photo back to Thad. "Mmmmm, bet she was better than any lunch you've ever had, huh?" he asked with another wink.**

**Thad was a bit shocked, but knew now that he'd be walking out of here a free man. "You?… and her…?"**

**Tony laughed a predatory laugh. "Shorter list is who **_**hasn't **_**she been with here at NCIS!" He leaned in conspiratorily. "Hey, did she do that thing… tightening her muscles around you when you… ya'know….?" He wanted to wipe the smirk off Bensonhurst's face. Either that or throw up. Maybe both.**

"**Ohhhh-ho, yeah, man! And what about that mouth?" The scum was practically drooling over the picture. "Watching your cock disappear in and out of those pouty, red lips…"**

**The guy talk came to an abrupt halt as the door flew open. "DiNutso, " FBI Agent Tobias Fornell growled. "You shouldn't be talking to my suspect." He turned to Thad. "FBI, Mr. Bensonhurst. I'll be taking over this case."**

**Thad was nervous. What did this guy, in his Sears off-the-rack suit, know about guys like him and Agent DiNozzo? **

"**This was that little misunderstanding I was telling you about Thad. We'll get it straightened out right now." Tony turned to Fornell. " Fornell. Always a pleasure. Nice suit, hey, did you get the complimentary security tag with it?" Thad chuckled.**

"**Funny, " Fornell said blandly. "This is an FBI case, DiNutso." Tony wagged a finger as he answered, "Aahh yes, but the victim is an NCIS employee."**

"_**Civilian **_**employee," Fornell interrupted, "means she's ours."**

**Tony sighed. "Well, hell, Tobias. If you want to get technical about it."**

**Thad sensed things were tilting out of his favor. He knew he couldn't schmooze the Feeb. "What if I want NCIS to handle it? Don't I get a choice?"**

**Winking at Thad, Tony said, "See Tobias? The suspect wants NCIS to take this. And Thad… I mean, Mr. Bensonhurst and I, are still discussing things."**

**Fornell sat with a sigh. "You know I hate coming down here for nothing. At least read me in, so I haven't totally wasted a trip."**

"**Sure, I can share." Tony returned the photos back to the folder. "We're almost finished here, right Thad?" Thad agreed. "My buddy Thad, here, had a bit of a … well,let's call it a 'disagreement'… with a female NCIS employee."**

**Fornell's eyebrows rose. "Disagreement? Hell, I heard she was in the hospital, still in a coma caused by her injuries. Didn't you see the 'after' pictures?"**

"**You mean, " Tony said smoothly, laying several pictures of Abby bruised and beaten, in front of Thad, "**_**these **_**pictures?" He saw TFT swallow nervously and begin to sweat. "Well, I gotta' admit, Thad, Agent Fornell may be right about these. This does look like a little more than a 'disagreement." He spread out close-up photos of the bruising and cuts, the blackened eye. " But I bet you can explain all this, right?"**

"**You said it yourself, Agent DiNozzo," Bensonhurst began. "Women like this are only good for one thing." He pushed the pictures away. "So ok, we were fucking like bunnies and it got a little rough." Thad didn't see Tony's eyes narrow or his nostrils flare, his hands clench into fists. "She's bouncing up and down on my cock, yelling 'more, more, harder, harder….man, I **_**love**_** screamers! She asked for more, I gave her more," he ranted, so worked up spittle was flying out of his mouth. "She fucked like a dog in heat, she just kept begging…."**

**Thad flew from his chair and up against the wall - hard. "Begging you to **_**stop**_**, maybe," Tony growled, his arm pressed against Bensonhurst's throat, and right in his face. **

"**C'mon, man! She **_**wanted**_** it! You said you've done her yourself," Thad gasped. The arm across his throat just pressed harder. It was getting more difficult to breathe.**

**Fornell tried getting in between Tony and the suspect, but he couldn't break the younger agent's hold on Bensonhurst. "DiNozzo, let him go, c'mon."**

"**He hurt her, Tobias," Tony spit, watching TFT's eyes begin to bulge. "Almost killed her."**

"_**Who? **_**Let him go, no one's worth killing this skell over," Fornell said, still trying to break them apart.**

"_**Abby," **_**Tony said through clenched teeth. Fornell froze. "Abby Sciuto, Abby?" he asked, incredulous. "**_**GIBBS' **_**Abby?"**

**Tony shook Thad so hard, his head cracked against the cement wall, pressed his arm harder against the scum's neck, enjoying watching his face turn a deep shade of purple, relishing in the gasping pleas to stop. "**_**DiNOZZO'S **_**Abby."**

**Fornell stepped back. "He's all yours." Thad begs the FBI agent to help him, telling him that he can't just stand there and let this happen. The seasoned agent shook his head. "You messed with the wrong girl, Bensonhurst. You're on your own." As Fornell walked out, Director Shephard stormed in. "Let him go." She could tell Tony was in the Red Zone, could see the steely determination in his eyes. "Tony, stop!"**

"**Abby asked him to stop, too," he ground out. "You've seen her, the condition she's in."**

"**I know, DiNozzo, but this is **_**not**_** the way to handle this. Abby wouldn't want this."**

**Tony grinned evilly. "Oh, I think she'd understand." He could tell it was close…. Almost there…..**

"_**STAND DOWN, AGENT DiNOZZO. THAT'S AN ORDER."**_

**Tony released Bensonhurst with a growl and watched him slide to the floor, gasping and choking for breath. He stood over him, fists clenching, lungs heaving, itching to pick up where he left off. He can't remember a time when he's actually wanted - no, **_**NEEDED - **_**to kill. He flinched when Jenny touched his shoulder, nudging him toward the door. "It's over Tony," she said softly. "He's going away for a long time, I promise you. But right now, you need to concentrate on Abby…. DiNozzo's Abby, remember? You can't help her if you're in custody."**

**Tony started to leave, then returned to kneel next to Bensonhurst. "You and I are **_**nothing**_** alike. A real man is more than an expensive suit and a rich daddy buying him out of trouble." Leaning down closer, he whispered in his ear so only TFT could hear. "I know about the other women, the **_**GIRLS **_**you've hurt, that were swept under the rug by daddy's money. I know all about you, and I'll be watching you, just waiting for you to slip up." Tony stood then and left the room quickly.**

**Jenny watched as Tony knelt next to Bensonhurst, saw him whisper something to him, watched as all color left the suspect's face. She motioned two agents in to scoop the scum up off the floor. "Thank God," he croaked. "I'll sue DiNozzo for all he's got!"**

**Director Shephard pushed Thad none-too-gently into the chair. She stood over him, staring him down with eyes of steel. "I didn't stop him to help **_**you," **_**she ground out angrily. "Agent DiNozzo is one of the best agents NCIS has, and I'll be **_**damned**_** if I lose him over someone like **_**you.**_**" She could see that the bastard still didn't get it. "As Agent Fornell said, you picked the wrong girl to 'fuck with.' " She picked up a picture of bruised Abby and held it in front of his eyes. "Abby Sciuto is as good as a little sister to Agent Dinozzo." She began to see the light of understanding in his eyes. "He would've been justified in killing you."**

**Bensonhurst made one last effort. "I was attacked in NCIS custody…."**

**Jenny smiled, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You were never read your Miranda Rights. At no time were you in custody or under arrest." She chuckled at his expression. "You could have gotten up and left at any time." She enjoyed watching his mouth open and close, like a fish out of water. He looked at the mirror window and the video camera. "The only one back there at any time was me. And since you weren't under arrest, there's no video record of what happened here today."**

**Fornell came back into the room. "But you are under arrest **_**now**_**." He motioned for the two agents to take custody. **

"**Read him his rights, and then get him the hell out of my agency, Fornell," Jenny said as the agents put the cuffs on Thad.**

"**Gladly, Madame Director. You know," Tobias said thoughtfully, "I think the student has surpassed the master."**

**With a smile, Jenny said as she left the room, "it was bound to happen sooner or later." Tobias smiled after her. He turned when Bensonhurst began complaining again. "'ey!" he said loudly. "Abigail Sciuto is a friend. Shut up before I let DiNozzo back in to finish what he started." He followed as his agents dragged Thad Bensonhurst, III down the hall to the elevators.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_**Thanks to NCISSara and jimmyjay88 for alerting , and a special thanks to kdjane for the encouragement. Mucho thanks to MoonlightGypsy for putting the words into my mouth when I got stuck. Quite appreciated! Noticed that I've neglected to inform you all that, contrary to popular opinion, I do NOT own NCIS, nor anything having even remotely anything to do with it. Except for…. Well, no, I don't own that, either. Sigh. Oh well, in that case, on to chapter 4.**_

_***Disclaimer: This story is rated M-MA for adult situations. Parents, I hope you are monitoring what your children are reading.**_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**CHAPTER 4**

**After a short search, Jenny Shephard finally found Tony DiNozzo in the mens' room, head in the toilet, retching violently. She handed him some paper towels as he sat up and wiped his mouth.**

"**You shouldn't have stopped me, Director."**

**Putting a hand on his shoulder, Jenny gave it a gentle squeeze. "It wasn't NCIS Director Shephard that stopped you. It was your friend Jenny." She searched his face, could see the conflicting emotions he carried. Anger, of course, but so much more. Fear, embarrassment, sadness….hurt. "I know you would do anything, give anything for Abby," Jenny said, squeezing the Armani-clad shoulder again. "But to ruin your career….."**

**Tony jumped up angrily and left the stall, storming to the row of sinks to rinse out his mouth. "Would've been worth it, and I'd do it again," he growled, trying to ignore his reflection in the mirror above the sink.**

"**For Abby, I **_**know**_**," Jenny interrupted, standing up. "But 'Trust Fund Thad' isn't. What?" She saw his confused look in the mirror. "I read your notes," she said, walking toward him with a small smile. "I couldn't stand by and watch one of my best agents kill his career over a privileged piece of crap like that." Good, a small smile returned in the mirror. "Besides," she said, coming up next to him, "we both know Abby would give you hell if you did." Tony stopped smiling, busied himself with drying his hands. Just as she suspected. There was something more between he and Abby, more than the teasing and flirting, more than concern. "This is also your friend Jenny," she said, holding his gaze in the mirror. "You can tell me anything," she murmured softly.**

**Pushing himself away from the sinks, Tony began to pace. Angrily. "Nothing to tell. Abby dated a jerk. A well-dressed, gainfully employed, high-brow jerk, but a jerk just the same. Said jerk worked her over, almost **_**KILLED**_** her," he snarled, fists clenched, "putting her in the hospital, and no one here at NCIS - the people who could've protected her - knew anything about it until she went missing for 3 days. End of story."**

**Jenny watched him pace, letting him blow off some steam and get himself back under control, just as she would have done with Jethro. She fought an inner battle of her own, knowing that something…. **_**deeper**_**…. than just the normal brother/sister thing was in play here. She could see the warring emotions on his face. "Tony, I'm not Jethro. You **_**can**_** tell me anything." He blew that off with a wave of his hand, still pacing. She tried again. "I know Abby's like a sister - a **_**LITTLE**_** sister - to you….." There… was that a hitch in his stride? "Or maybe it's… something…. more?" she asked softly. "I was in Observation, Tony. I heard **_**every**__**word**_** when you were discussing Abby."**

**Tony stopped his pacing, coming up right in front of Jenny, staring her in the eye. "There's **_**nothing **_**between Abby and me," he said through clenched teeth, not planning on saying more until he saw the raised eyebrow. "Except friendship." He resumed his pacing. "I wonder if we even have that," he murmured under his breath.**

**Pushing away from the wall, Jenny stepped into Tony's path, stopping him in his tracks with a gentle hand to his chest. "**_**WHATEVER **_**is between you, it doesn't change the fact that she needs you right now, Tony. The how's and why's of how she ended up where she is aren't important." She took a step back. "I think you know what is," she said quietly, then turned for the door. Hand on the door handle, Jenny turned back. "And if there ever was - or **_**is **_**- anything more between the two of you….. Well, I'd say you both found something, some**_**one**_**, very special. And that's not an easy thing to do."**

**Staring off in thought, Tony never even noticed when Jenny left.**

***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS** NCIS***

**Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard slipped quietly into Abby's hospital room. It was nearing 4 AM. He'd just spoken with her charge nurse, and wasn't at all surprised to learn that her doctor planned to keep her fairly sedated for the rest of the day. Apparently she wasn't sleeping well, but Ducky had expected that.**

**He smiled at a delicately snoring Ziva as he double-checked Abby's medical chart. Ducky wondered briefly if she approached her shift with Abby as a friend, or as an assignment. Oh, yes, the two girls were beginning to get along better, but the older gentleman knew that something like **_**real **_**friendship - the only kind of friendship there was with Abigail Sciuto - was a foreign concept to the young Israeli.**

**Ziva awoke with a small snort as Ducky gently began his own examination of the patient. "Oh. Ducky. I am sorry, I did not mean to fall asleep." She checked and saw Abby still sleeping, albeit fitfully. "She was like this all night long," Ziva sighed. "If she was not dreaming of the attack, she was crying for Tony to save her from the monsters."**

**Putting a gentle hand on her forehead, Ducky was saddened when Abby flinched away from his touch, even as she slept. Not for the first time since this had happened, he wished he had the miscreant who did this horrible thing on one of his autopsy tables. There was one autopsy he'd take great pleasure in doing.**

**Checking that Abby was still sleeping, Ziva motioned for Ducky to join her across the room, by the window. She didn't want to chance being overheard. "The results of the sexual assault kit have come back," she all but whispered. "Yes, I know," Ducky answered in kind. Ziva grimaced. "How do we tell her, Ducky? This will be very bad, yes?"**

**Patting Ziva on the shoulder Ducky said, "I think that deep down inside, Abigail already knows she's been…." he frowned, unable to associate that word with his Abigail, "….**_**violated.**_** But it will be quite a jolt to her when she finds out the truth." Ducky watched as Ziva scrubbed a hand over her face and yawned. "Dear girl, you've been here all night. Why don't you go home and get some real sleep?" He raised a hand when he saw she would refuse. "As a doctor, I must insist," he said with a smile. "You go on. I will sit with our Abigail until the 'day shift' arrives."**

**Ziva began gathering her things. "Tony will be up soon, yes? He won't stay away too much longer, will he? I think seeing him will help to soothe her." Ducky saw her to the door and gave her a grandfatherly pat on the shoulder. "I certainly hope so, Ziva." As the door closed behind her he said to himself, "for Abigail's sake, I certainly hope so." **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to all the usual suspects - you know who you are. Super thanks to MoonlightGypsy for the kick in the but to get me to write this. Reviews loved and greatly appreciated, but go easy - my self-esteem is fragile enough as it is. If you've got a "hate" review, send it on over to MoonlightGypsy, since this whole me writing thing is her fault (Love ya', MG!). This story is rated M-MA for language and adult situations-mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys or read this fic.**

_**Disclaimer: NCIS is strict property of DB and CBS. I own nothing even remotely related to NCIS or it's affiliates. All opinions expressed within are solely those of this fanfic writer. We're sure TPTB (The Powers That Be) at CBS and NCIS would all have a good laugh over all of this.**_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 5**

The quiet sobbing dragged Tim McGee's attention away from his laptop. He was taking his shift sitting with Abby, and since she was still under sedation, he thought he'd get some work done. Well, he didn't really look at sitting with Abby as a "shift." He'd sit with her 24/7 if the others would let him. They may not be dating anymore, but he still cared for Abby a great deal, even wished that they _**would**_ get back together, but knew deep down inside that they wouldn't. Even so, Tim had to admit it rankled that after all they'd meant to each other, it was _**TONY**_, Abby cried for. Oh, it probably shouldn't, he figured, seeing as they'd known each other, worked with each other for a few years before he, himself, had come along. And it's been Tony keeping an eye on Abby now that Gibbs was gone.

'Huh,' he thought to himself. Abby's been in the hospital for 2 days now, and Tony had yet to make an appearance. Strange. He hadn't even _asked _how she was - Tim, Ziva, Jenny, and Ducky had all eben updating him, but Tony had never once asked. Even stranger.

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

"N-n-n-n-noooooooooo," Abby whimpered as the fist came out of the inky darkness and connected with he cheek. "Please…. Please don't…." she whispered, her voice gone hoarse from screaming for help. "St… stop, please…. Sto…. Make it stop… Tony! Please!" Tears ran down her cheeks, the saline stinging against the cuts and abrasions. So dark. All she could see was that hand, striking out at her over and over. An open hand now, coming straight at her…. Grabbing her by the throat, lifting her up off the chair.

"Who do you belong to, little bitch!" the raspy voice growled at her. Fingers squeezed…. Breath…ing getting harder… _**"TELL ME! WHO OWNS YOU?"**_

Please, someone… someone help! Where is…"To-onnnnnnny…" Her body collided with the wall. **"Wrong answer, little slut….."** She slid to the floor in a heap. "Save m…. save me, Tony….."

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

"…save m… save me, Tony…." Tim held Abby's hand and tried to comfort her. Hard to do when she was in another place in her mind. He gulped as he thought about the news Ducky had recently given them, that Abby had been raped. He worried about who would be the one to tell her. Tim wished he had the guts to do it himself. Maybe Ziva…. No, her delivery would lack the compassion Abby would need. It was a no-brainer actually, who should tell her, the only one she'd be comfortable with telling her. Tony. "Yeah, fat chance of that happening," he muttered to himself as he rubbed his thumb over the top of the hand he held. "Sorry, Abby. If I didn't think he'd hurt me, I'd drag him here myself."

The squeak of the door made Tim look up to see the Director …. Jenny … slipping in quietly. "How is she doing, McGee?"

Tim stood, as if giving a sit-rep. "Uh," he stammered, "she's still under sedation but the nightmares …. Well, it sounds pretty awful, what she's re-living."

Jenny put her shoulder bag on the floor next to the bed and pulled out a big, gray, stuffed hippo. She lifted Abby's arm and slid it into a hug position. "Maybe Bert will help her relax." She looked at her junior agent, saw the worry in his eyes. "What's on your mind, McGee?"

Tim sighed. "Just … everything. Why didn't she tell us about this guy, especially when it started to go bad? Why won't Tony come up to see her? Who's going to tell her about the … ya' know… " he stammered, blushing.

Getting comfortable, Jenny sat and leaned back in the chair. "The first 2, I have no answer for. I'm just as shocked as the rest of you that Tony isn't here." She tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Did they have some kind of argument I don't know about?" Tim's lips pouted in thought. "No, not that I'm aware of."

"As for who'll tell her what happened … " Jenny began, giving Abby's hand a little squeeze, " Looks like that job falls to me and Ducky."

A big sigh of relief burst from Tim. "Oh thank God. I was hoping it wouldn't have to be me." He backpedaled, realizing how selfish and insensitive that sounded. "N..not that I wouldn't have, if you asked me to, because I would have, it's just…."

Jenny smiled at McGee. "It's ok, Tim, I understand." She looked over at Abby, wishing she could spare the poor girl the news. "I just wish _Agent DiNozzo_ would get over whatever it is that's bothering him and come sit with her. Maybe then, she could relax."

Jenny and McGee looked on sadly as Abby continued to writhe and whimper, as if back in the arms of that animal, Bensonhurst. Jenny told Tim about the interrogation, leaving out the certain details Tony knew about Abby, and about Tony throwing up afterward. "Do you really think that the FBI will be able to keep Bensonhurst behind bars?" asked Tim. Jenny said, with an understanding smile, "Fornell has a soft spot for Abby. He'll find a way to make Trust Fund Thad miserable for a good, long time."

As McGee started to gather up his things to leave, he decided to broach a subject that could be dicey. "Uh, ya know, Director," he began uncertainly, "um, in all the time Abby's been here, um, well…"

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out, McGee." Tim sighed. "It's just that, the whole time she's been here …. She's never once asked for, um, Gibbs. It's always Tony."

Looking at Abby, Jenny had thought about this same thing. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe she was getting over Gibbs' leaving. "Yes, I noticed it too, Tim. Not sure yet whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Tim shrugged into his coat and said, "Yeah, me neither. Just … thought I should … mention it." He left, with a quick glance back at Abby.

Director Jenny Shephard watched sadly as the young scientist struggled in her dreams, and straightened the blankets that were tangled around Abby's legs. She ran a gentle finger over the dark bruise encircling Abby's ankles that indicated she'd been tied up. "I'm so sorry, Abbs," Jenny whispered. "I don't know what to do ….a part of me says let Tony prove he can handle this. The other part says that he obviously _**can't**_, since he's not here, and I should call Jethro." She reached up and brushed a dark lock of hair out of Abby's face. "Wake up soon kiddo, and let me know, huh? We miss that Sciuto Smile," she said as Abby grimaced in pain.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wowzers, 2 chapters in one day! I amaze myself! Please feed my fragile ego and give this chap a good review! If you wan to say it sucks, go ahead, but send it to Moonlight Gypsy - me publishing the stories in my head was all HER idea! (Seriously tho' - thanks for the kick in the behind MG)**

_**DISCLAIMER: This story is rated M-MA for language and adult situations. If that's not your cup O'tea, stop right here. All that I own of NCIS is my delusions of grandeur of owning NCIS.**_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 6**

_**Flashback:**_ _Bouncing through the parking lot to her car, Abby smiled. It had been a good day at NCIS today - Agent Shirreffs' team had closed a really big case, thanks to her stunning forensics work. Well, OK, so no one else had called it stunning, but knowing she'd found the proverbial needle in the haystack of a Navy PO's money laundering scheme… BRILLIANT, if she did say so herself. And she did!_

_It was also a good day because today officially marked 2 weeks with no phone calls, e-mails, or any other form of contact with that bastard, Thad. He'd finally gotten the hint that it was over. PHEW! She was glad. For a while there, she'd thought she might end up having to tell Tim or Ziva about it all…. Which brought to mind….. __**TONY.**__ Well _**FUDGE, **_there went the happy, happy, joy, joy, joy out of her day. She wasn't used to feeling so… unsettled about Tony DiNozzo._

_Lost in thought as she was, Abby never saw the black-clad figure step out from between cars until he'd grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Hey! What the…" her voice broke off when she saw who it was. "What the hell do __**you**__ want? And how did you get on-base?"_

_The parking lot camera caught it as Abby argued with the man in black, then as she physically struggled with him, losing her black lace parasol in the jostling. It also caught it as the figure in black managed to get an arm around her neck and drag her away, out of camera range._

_She'd been missing for three days before anyone even thought of checking the parking lot cameras. _

_**End flashback**_

Abby felt the tip of the police baton poke her in the stomach. Hard. "Please… don't… help… help me…. Tony, please….? Tony…." she whimpered, still dreaming.

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

It was a quiet afternoon in Team DiNozzo's corner of the bullpen. Tony cast furtive glances out of the corner of his eye at his junior agents. Hmmmm, something was going on between them… their heads would drop back to their work when they knew he was looking at them. They had a secret, and it was killing him not to know.

Tim looked at Ziva, tilting his head in Tony's direction, eyes going wide. She responded with a tilt of her chin and narrowed eyes. Each was silently telling the other to have "the talk" with their boss, the one where they tell him they want to know why he's not going to see Abby.

The silent staring war across the bullpen went on for several minutes before Tony couldn't handle it anymore - it was driving him CRAZY! "McGoo-goo eyes!" Tony yelled, smiling when both Ziva and McGee jumped. "Anything on the warrant for PFC Daley's home?" It took McGee a second to get back in the swing of things. "Uh, no Boss, not yet." A light bulb went off in his head, and he bolted up out of his seat. "But. I will go down to Legal right now and see what's keeping them!" Tim smiled in relief that it wouldn't have to be HIM having to confront Tony as he passed by Ziva's desk. With a scowl, Ziva held up a paper clip, meaning clear: 'I know 18 ways to kill you with this.' The smile dropped from McGee's face as he scurried to the elevator.

Ziva glanced around the rest of the bullpen. Seemed no one had anything pressing to need them for, damn it. Damn McGee for putting her in this position. She sighed, mentally preparing herself for what lay ahead and stood. She was a trained Officer of Mossad, she did more difficult things than this all the time. But she is not in Israel now, and she is but a mere liaison to NCIS, she reasoned, sitting back down with a thump. But this was **ABBY**… determined now, she stood again and strode confidently to Tony's desk. Tony sat back in his chair and looked at her. "Yes, Officer David?"

"We need to talk."

Tony pushed away from his desk slightly, leaned back, and put his hands behind his head, the picture of a man with no worries. "So ….. Talk."

Ziva stood tall. "Abby has been asking for you," she said, getting frustrated when Tony dropped his hands and pulled himself back into his desk. "We are all getting tired of making up excuses as to why you are not there." She walked closer to him as he appeared to go back to work, like he hadn't heard her. She sighed. "I know you are upset with Abby over something. But if you can not visit her as a friend - or the older brother she feels you are - at least visit as her supervisor."

Tony didn't even look up. "Since when are you and our science goth such good friends?"

Throwing up her hands in frustration, Ziva raised her voice, "You are IMPOSSIBLE! Abby, someone you _**supposedly **_care a lot for, is lying in the hospital, battered and bruised, suffering from nightmares every time she closes her eyes," she began to yell. "_**BEGGING, **_not for McGee or even **GIBBS, **but for _**YOU.**_ The only one who can banish her 'monsters in the shadows,' she calls them. Are you _**really **_ going to make her go through this alone, simply because your feelings are hurt?"

Looking up at her, Tony raised a cocky eyebrow. "Wow, all that and not one botched word. You're getting better, David. Been studying, have you?"

Nostrils flaring, Ziva stared him down. "If this is how you treat your friends when the pegs are down, then I thank God we are not friends." Tony stood, coming out from behind his desk. "It's _**chips,**_ Ziva, when the _**chips **_are down."

Seeing he planned on leaving, Ziva stepped up, blocking his path. She lowered her voice, practically a whisper. "She was … raped, Tony. She is alone, and she is scared. It is time for you to 'man up' and see her."

While he'd suspected as much, the news hit him hard, but he didn't flinch as he stepped around Ziva and headed for the elevator. "Going to see Ducky." Once the elevator began to move, Tony flipped the emergency switch, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. It ate him alive, knowing that something so horrible had happened to his Abby, but he couldn't give in to the feelings. He paced around the small box, conflicted. She hadn't trusted them - HIM - enough to tell them - HIM - what was happening with Trust Fund Thad, so sure she could handle it herself. She wanted to go it alone, she could go it alone. But this was _**ABBY.**_ Sweet, lovable, huggable, goth-yet-naïve Abby. And she'd been hurt in the worst way possible…..

With a growl, Tony slammed his fist into the metal door of the elevator, satisfying his need to hit something - or someone. He flipped the switch back on and continued on his way to Autopsy. Ducky looked up in surprise. "I don't have anything for you yet, Anthony."

Tony walked over, his right hand cradling his left. "That's ok, Ducky, I've got something for _you _this time,_" _he said, holding out his bruised, swollen knuckles.

Looking over Tony's hand, Ducky presumed to guess the cause of the injury. "Might this have something to do with our mistress of the dark and her hospitalization?" Tony answered with a grunt, neither confirming or denying. Ducky continued as if he hadn't heard him, "she was in quite the state when I was sitting with her." He pressed gently on Tony's knuckles, checking for fractures or breaks. "I was rather shocked to learn that you, young Anthony, hadn't as yet been to see her."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't you start too, Duck."

"I'm just saying, Anthony," Ducky began to lecture as he taped the first 2 fingers of Tony's hand together for support, "there are certain situations when you must put your own feelings aside and tend to the needs of others. 'The needs of the many over the needs of the one." Tony narrowed his eyes at him. "Nice 'Star Trek : Wrath of Khan' reference there, Duck." Finished taping, Ducky looked Tony in the eye. "Yes, well, I thought I'd put it in terms you would understand. You know our Abigail. She may put on a brave front, but on the _inside_, she's a sensitive young woman desperate for approval from those she loves." He checked his work. "And at the moment, YOU are the one she is in need of most. The man she thought of as a father figure up and walked out of her life without so much as a word. Then she's kidnapped, beaten.. And worse… and the most important man in her life won't see her." Ducky dropped the tape and began cleaning up the area. "Think what that's doing to her. You were a police officer, Anthony, you know how these things go." He looked at Tony with pleading eyes. "The victim most always feels _she_ is at fault. And your not being there for Abby is only solidifying that in her mind."

Tony knew what Ducky said was true. He'd worked many rapes during his years on the police force, knew the statistics, the psychology. He hated thinking of Abby in those terms.

"Please, Anthony," Ducky begged. "Go see Abby."

Tony flexed his fingers, happy nothing was broken. Ducky had taped the fingers together more so he wouldn't use them stupidly, not to help healing. He turned to leave. "Thanks for fixing me up, Duck," he said with a casual wave over his shoulder. As the door swished shut behind Tony, Ducky couldn't help but wonder who was hurting more at this point - Abigail or Anthony.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to all the new story alerters and favoriters - you've made my day. Heck, my week, month, and quite possibly, year also! Hope I don't disappoint. This chapter is kind of a filler chapter - in a bit of a writer's block, so hope no one gets bored and that it doesn't sound too rambly. Like this A/N is getting right about now.**

_**Disclaimer: Guess what? For Christmas, I got NCIS! Santa DOES love me! **_**Oh wait - that was just a dream I had the other night…. SHUCKS!**

**This fic rated M/MA for later chapters, when there will hopefully be something that's rated M/MA. But there are adult sitches and language, so parents, do not leave your children unattended.**

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 7**

Jenny Shepherd tip-toed quietly out of Abby's hospital room, the door swishing silently closed behind her. She paused for a moment, leaning back against the door, eyes closed, trying to compose herself. She hadn't been this near tears in a very long time. But then, Abigail Sciuto has the ability of magically bringing the most latent emotions out of even the hardest of people, whether it be total joyu or, like today, utter sadness.

"Is she sleeping at last?" asked Ducky in a quiet, concerned voice. "Finally," Jenny answered softly. "If she stays that way….", she shrugged.

The older gentleman and the Director walked to the nearby waiting room. Amazingly it was empty. They both sat with heavy sighs. "I do apologize, Director, for leaving you to deal with the aftermath of the news by yourself," said Ducky, turning his hat around and around in his hands. Jenny can't think of a time she's seen the unflappable ME so distraught. "I'm afraid I just couldn't handle the silent tears of our Abigail."

Patting Ducky's shoulder Jenny said, "It's OK, Ducky. Believe me, I understand." The older gentleman smiled sadly. "Yes, she does have that effect on people, doesn't she? I ashamed to say that I fell back on the old 'Take 2 and call me in the morning' standard." If Ducky began to cry, Jenny knew she wouldn't be able to hold back, either.

"I'm sure Abby understands, doctor. If anyone understands being emotional, it's Abby." They both gave a watery laugh. "Ducky…." Jenny began tentatively, "have you spoken to…."

"Anthony?" the doctor interrupted. "Briefly, for all the good it did. Yes, he came to see me earlier today. Apparently he'd had a disagreement of sorts with the elevator." he chuckled at the Director's confusion. "He was escaping a tongue-lashing from Ziva, she was after him about his absence from Abby's side. Anyway, he tried to put his fist through the wall or door of the elevator. Luckily, he was already on his way down to see me."

The Director shook her head. "Has he said anything to you, Ducky? This is so not like Tony. I thought we'd need cables and a crane to drag him away from that room. Now…." she left off, worried.

"He's said nothing to me, Director. It certainly is out of character for him, especially now with, well, Jethro…. Being gone."

Jenny knew Ducky was right. Tony and Abby had always had a close relationship, but with the defection of the man both of them saw as a father figure, they'd been even closer. Many was the time Jenny had left her office at the end of the day to find the older brother down in the bullpen hugging his little sister as she cried, or the little sister in her lab doing her best to cheer up her older brother with her antics. She knew about the nights Tony and Abby had slept - innocently - in each other's arms on the futon in Abby's lab right after Jethro had left, knew Tony had gone over to Abby's in the middle of the night when she called him in tears. Knew Abby had had weekend-long movie marathons at Tony's when she sensed he needed it. Where the team had stumbled in chaos for a little while, Abby and Tony had only gotten stronger. Jenny just couldn't think of _anything_ that would cause DiNozzo to act as he was now. No one on his team seemed to have any clue. Even poor Abby herself didn't seem to realize there was a problem - she kept asking for him, calling for him in her nightmares. If Jethro were here, he'd be slapping Tony on the back of the head for his behavior.

"Ducky,…." Jenny said carefully. "Do you think we should…"

"Call Jethro?" the astute ME finished. "I honestly don't know. I mean, Abigail has just recently taken down those pictures from around her lab, finally adjusting to his absence. Anthony has finally found his rhythm as supervisory agent. While I have no doubt Abby would be comforted by him being here, I do believe it would be much worse when he left again." Ducky shook his head. "There's no question he would come. For Abby. And I'm quite sure he could headslap some sense into Anthony. But in the long run?" He gave Jenny a small smile. "let's just say that I'm very glad it's not up to _me _to make that decision."

With a sigh, Jenny thanked the good doctor, not without a bit of friendly sarcasm. "Some days it doesn't pay to be the person in charge." She cleared her throat and began hesitantly, "Do you think…. Abby and Tony…."

Now it was Ducky looking confused. "Abby and Tony what?"

God, she couldn't believe she was even thinking this, but after overhearing DiNozzo during Bensonhurst's interrogation….. "Ya' know… have….." She was saved when she saw the light bulb come on over the ME'S head. "Have become… more… than brother and sister?" he intimated, eyebrows raised.

Jenny's face lit up, happy she didn't have to be the one to actually say it out loud. "Exactly." Ducky thought it over. "Not to my knowledge. I certainly haven't seen any signs that things have changed between them…. Until _now _that is," he clarified. "Not that there'd be anything wrong with it if they were." After some more consideration, Ducky continued, "In fact, in thinking about it, I believe they'd make quite a nice couple. Their personalities complement each other's rather well. Anthony gives a strong, nurturing, stable shoulder Abby needs, she gives a certain joie de vivre and unconditional love that Anthony needs." Ducky nodded to himself. "Yes, they'd be wonderful together. But what makes you think they are… canoodling, as they called it back in my day."

The director shook her head, still unsure, while she did agree with Ducky. "I don't know for sure if anything _is _going on. It was just something DiNozzo said in his interrogation of Bensonhurst. Certain… details….a brother wouldn't know about his sister."

At that moment Ziva walked into the waiting room. "Ducky, Jenny. Is Abby asleep?" "yes, dear," Ducky answered. "The news of the rape took a toll on her."

"I was going to ask how it went," Ziva said quietly. "And you, Director? How are you?" Jenny gave the young Israeli a hug. "I'm fine, Ziva, thank you. It wasn't easy, even though she said she suspected as much. No screaming, no yelling. Just this….calm acceptance and silent tears. Not what I was expecting. Those silent tears…." She looked at the closed door hiding Abby. "I almost think I'd feel better about the whole thing if she_ had _screamed or yelled."

Ziva nodded. "Quiet is not something one generally associates with Abby. Well, I will stay for a while, and McGee will be up later. It is safe for you to go. Abby shall not be alone tonight."

The three of them walked into the hall and over to Abby's room. "Thank you Ziva, for being here. You're a good friend," Jenny said. Ziva gave a small smile. "I certainly hope I am. Although a _very _good friend would be dragging Anthony DiNozzo by the shorthairs here to see her." Ducky grimaced in imagined pain while Jenny smiled. "if anyone could, it would be you!" She gave Ziva another quick hug. "Call if you need anything. And when McGee relieves you, go home and get some sleep, come in late tomorrow. You need a break."

Ziva raised an eyebrow, gave half a smirk. "and Tony will approve of this?"

Jenny grinned a bit evilly. "Oh, he has no choice_ but _to approve a direct order from his boss." Ziva chuckled. "Oh, to be a bug in the hall when he finds out!"

Ducky snickered as he put on his hat. "It's _FLY _on the _WALL, _dear, and I agree, I would enjoy seeing that, also." He turned to Jenny. "May I walk you out, Madame Director?"

"Thank you, Ducky," Jenny said as they started down the hall. "Remember," she called over her shoulder. "If we need anything, we will call," Ziva answered, vanishing into Abby's room.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So here it is, chapter 8 already. Where does the time go? Anyway, BIG thanks to all the new Alerters-you make me happy just by being you. But you can make me even happier by leaving a little review! But go easy - newbie with self-esteem issues here, so please, be kind. Thanks!**

_**DISCLAIMER: (sniffle, sniffle) I own absolutely NOTHING to do with NCIS (sniffle sniffle), it all belongs to someone else (WAAAAHHHHHHH!)**_

_**Disclaimer #2: Heading into the M/MA portion of our little story in the next few chapters, so buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy night!**_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 8**

The autopsy doors whooshed open and the lights clicked on as ME Assistant Jimmy Palmer scurried in. His shift was over and he'd started home only to turn around and come back - he'd left his cell phone behind. Dr. Mallard was fairly easy to work for, not too many rules to follow - other than the usual autopsy protocols, of course - but he insisted Jimmy be reachable anytime, anywhere. Hence the hurry to find his phone. He began checking drawers in one of the desks when an unexpected voice from behind him caused him to jump. He spun around to see Agent DiNozzo - well, he could call him Tony now - lying on one of the steel autopsy slabs. "Sorry, 'Black Lung', didn't mean to scare ya'."

"Tony," Jimmy said, walking over to the table, cell phone momentarily forgotten. "What are you doing here? In the dark. On an autopsy table?" Tony sat up. "Ya' know, Gibbs used to sleep on one of these when we had a really big case and he wanted to clear his head." Standing, he stretched, wincing at the crack coming from his back. "Don't know how he did it for so long." He pointed to the table behind him as he walked to the desk and sat in the chair. "Those things are damned uncomfortable. You should do something about that, Palmer."

Jimmy pushed up his glasses. "Well, our guests don't usually need any extra comfort. Ya' know, seeing as they're dead and all." He saw Tony's cocked eyebrow. "Ohhhhh, right, that was a joke," he smiled.

Tony twirled around and around in the office chair. "Nothing gets past _you_ does it, my little Autopsy Gremlin." He held up Jimmy's cell. "Looking for this?"

Jimmy was momentarily confused as he looked at the phone, having forgotten why he'd come back to work. "Oh! Right, forgot my phone. Dr. Mallard is adamant that he be able to reach me anytime."

"Ah yes, good ol' Leroy Jethro Gibbs' Rule #3 - Never Be Unreachable." Tony snorted. "Looks like he's forgotten his own rule."

Palmer reached out and saved his phone from DiNozzo's hands that were juggling it around. "So you've tried calling Agent Gibbs, then?"

His back to Jimmy, Tony leaned backward in the chair so he was looking at him upside down. "Who, me? NO!" he righted himself and resumed spinning. "But I'm sure _someone_ must have called him by now," he hinted innocently. "Talk to me, Palmer." He stopped the chair and stood in front of Jimmy.

The sudden closeness kind of freaked Jimmy out, and he adjusted his glasses again. "Uh, ab…about, um, about what?" Tony clapped Palmer on both shoulders and smiled. "C'mon, Palmer, you're my eyes and ears around here, man! My Black Lung! My Autopsy Gremlin! Invisible yet dangerous…"

"I am?" Jimmy asked in disbelief. Tony continued as if he hadn't heard him. "People talk around you, share their hopes and dreams, never knowing that _right next to them _is the one who sees and hears all, gathering information that could prove vital one day…." He could see Jimmy getting into it…oh yeah, like taking candy from a baby, DiNozzo!

"Wow! There's someone like that here at NCIS? Oh…wait…who is it? I wouldn't want to say the wrong thing in front of them."

Tony dropped his head with a sigh, then shook Jimmy gently, looking him in the eye once again. "It's _you _, Palmer," he said, as if talking to a child. "People talk around you, saying things they may not want to get around." He saw the recognition now in Palmer's eyes and nodded along with him. "That's why I'm counting on you, Jimmy, to let me know if there are any surprises I should know about."

"Well," Jimmy began on a whisper, looking around to make sure they were alone (Tony rolled his eyes). "There _is_ one thing…." Tony's eyes lit up. "Yeah? C'mon, BL, you can tell me."

"BL?" said a confused Jimmy. "OH! Black Lung, BL, I get it!" he said with a smile. Tony gritted his teeth and reminded himself he wasn't allowed to shoot the Autopsy Gremlin. "The _news_, Palmer?"

"Oh, right." He checked again for anyone who might overhear. Tony pierced him with a glare. "OK, so…" he lowered his voice, "I heard from Anita in Accounting…"

Tony was confused. "_Who?_ "

"Anita. You know, the one with the big…uhhh…" he mimicked large breasts, "…sweater?"

"OK, yeah, so what did you hear from The Sweater?" Tony asked, impatiently.

"Well, she was telling one of the other secretaries that with the new accounting program, we'll be getting paid on Wednesdays instead of Fridays."

Tony just stared, waiting for the rest of it, the part that pertained to _him_ and/or his team. There was nothing coming. "And?"

Jimmy shrugged. "She thinks it'll be nice to not have to worry about getting to the bank on the weekend. And ya' know, I've gotta' agree with her. Trying to get to the bank in those few hours on a Saturday morning, with those long lines and all…."

"PALMER! Focus!" Tony put his hands on either side of Jimmy's face. "What does this have to do with what McGee, Ziva, or even the Director, may have said about me?"

"About you? Well…nothing." Tony sighed. "All I want to know is what people are saying about this whole me and Abby situation." Jimmy nodded in clarity. "Ohhhh, that. Uh, well, nobody's said anything." Tony looked at him in disbelief. "Nothing?" Jimmy shook his head. "Nope, not a thing." He paused. "Well, unless you count Officer David cursing you in Hebrew. At least, I _think_ they were curses. In fact, I'm pretty sure they _were _curses."

Tony brushed that off with a sweep of his hand. "Ahhh, that's nothing new. She's always doing that." he plopped down in the office chair again. Palmer thought he almost looked disappointed that there was nothing being said about him. Mustering up some courage, Jimmy said, "Tony, I don't know about what anyone else thinks, but….why aren't you going up to see Abby in the hospital?" he rushed on, seeing Tony roll his eyes. "We've all been, Dr. Mallard, myself, even the Director." He put a comforting hand on DiNozzo's shoulder. "She asks for you ya' know, all the time, and we all make up reasons you can't be there. She has these, well, they sound really awful, nightmares where she cries for you to, well….save her." Jimmy shook his head, concerned. "I've never seen her like this, this scared before. She's sedated a lot so she can get some rest from the monsters, she calls them." Palmer could see Tony was listening, beginning to look worried. "Does this have anything to do with what you told me happened between the two of you a couple of weeks ago? Because if it does…"

Tony jumped out of the chair and put a hand over Jimmy's mouth, looking around frantically to make sure no one could overhear. "That was_ our _little secret, Palmer. You can't go around talking about that." He took his hand away from Jimmy's mouth.

"Don't worry, I haven't said anything to anyone, it's still a secret. But Tony, if what you said that day is true,"

"It _IS_," Tony interrupted.

"Well, if it _is, _that's all the more reason you should go see her. I mean, you know that she was…"

"_Yeah_, I know, Jim," Tony ground out between clenched teeth, turning away from the concerned look on Jimmy's face - it was making him feel guilty.

"Then you know how she's feeling. She's alone, she's been seriously injured, and she's scared, Tony." A horrid thought occurred to him. "That's not why you won't see her, is it, because of the…"

"_**WHAT?**_" Tony yelled, turning fast. "_**NO!**_ God, NO!" He paced, running a hand through his hair. "The truth? The truth is, I'm not sure _why _I won't go see her. I'm angry - _no_, not at Abby. At least, not for getting hurt. I'm angry at the lowlife that did this to her. I'm angry that I didn't see anything was going on. I'm angry at Gibbs for leaving her - and _me_ - like he did. I'm angry that I'm angry. I'm angry that Abby never told _any _of us, not just _me_, that she was in trouble, that she didn't trust me enough to help her, to take care of her." He stopped his pacing and dropped sadly back into the chair. "But mostly…I'm scared," he all but whispered. "Scared I'm going to wreck this, that I'm going to lose her before I ever really had her…."

Palmer pretended not to notice the tears welling in his friend's eyes. "From what I can see," he said softly, "the only way you'll lose her is if you don't go to her _now_, when she needs you the most, Tony."

Standing wearily, Tony felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, willing away the tears. "Maybe," he sighed sadly, walking toward the autopsy doors. "Or maybe I'm just doomed to fuck this up before it even gets started." The doors swooshed open. "G'night Jimmy," he said quietly. "And thanks."

"Any time, Agent…" the doors slid shut. "DiNozzo." After a moment, Jimmy picked up his cell phone again and followed Tony out, flicking off the lights as he left.

_*NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS*_

It was just after 11 PM, McGee had gotten there minutes before, and Abby was awake - courtesy of another nightmare - and waiting for the night nurse to bring her the sedative she'd asked for. "Tim," she interrupted with her even raspier-than-usual voice whatever story he was trying to cheer her up with. "He's not coming, is he?" she asked, with a sense of finality.

"Who?" Oh, _why _did Ziva have to leave so quickly? He was no good at keeping secrets, especially from Abby.

She played with the edge of her blanket out of nervousness. "You know who. He's not coming, is he?" she asked again. Tim began to sweat. "Uh, well, there's this really big case, and he's spending a lot of time with the Director up in MTAC.."

Abby pouted sadly. "But _she_ still manages to come see me, even if it's only for a few minutes." She looked up at McGee with resigned, tear-filled eyes. "Please don't lie to me, Timmy. Not you, not now. Just tell me the truth. He's not coming, is he."

Tim closed his eyes and wished he was anywhere else but here. "Abby…" His heart broke when he saw a lone, silent tear drip down her cheek. "C'mon, don't… please? Don't cry, you know what that does to me…." he whined. Abby sniffled. "It's OK, Timmy," she whispered. "I get it now. I won't ask about him again." Sniffle. "He…he hates me now. Because of what happened….." She waved away McGee's denials. "Tony hates me, McGee. I wasn't strong enough, Thad beat me, I let him…let him… I let him r-r-rape m-me…."

McGee grabbed her hand. "Abby, _**STOP!**_ You did _**NOT**_ let this creep hurt you, and you _certainly_ didn't let him rape you! I _know_ you know you didn't - you're one of the smartest people I know, Abby, and you're smart enough to know that _no one_ _**LETS **_themselves be raped." Tim could see Abby shrinking into herself, making herself look smaller in that big bed. Damn Tony! They were going to lose Abby….

"He's not coming….he's not coming because he hates me now. Tony hates me…" she cried in whispers. Tim had never felt more in over his head. "What? No, Abby, no, he doesn't hate you. No one could ever hate you…."

"He hates me, he hates me," she whimpered, even after the sedative the nurse had finally brought began to take effect. It was like her new mantra now. "Hates me…he hates me," she mumbled as she fell into slumber. "Hhhhhhatesssssssss mmmmmmmmeeeeeeeee."

Tears welled up in Tim's eyes as he watched sleep overcome Abby, and she repeated that phrase over and over. For a moment, he wished this would have happened on someone else's watch. He felt so….unprepared to handle this situation. He needed reinforcements. He pulled out his phone, then stopped. He'd intended on calling Ziva, but remembered her saying that Director Shephard had ordered her home to sleep when she left the hospital. She was as exhausted as he was - he wouldn't wake her. Ducky? No, with him being an older man, McGee didn't' dare disturb him this late. Palmer? McGee shook his head. Palmer was as lost with women as he, himself, was. His first two choices - Gibbs and Tony - were both out, for obvious reasons. Well, that left one choice. He scrolled to speed dial #4. "I'm sorry to wake you, Director, but…."

As he waited for Director Shephard, Tim grew angrier listening to Abby muttering over and over that Tony hated her, even as she slept. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and hit speed dial #1. "Only for you, Abbs….please let it go to voice mail, please let it go to voice mail," he begged to his phone. He was relieved to hear the voice mail message come on. "I hope you're happy with yourself, hurting Abby like this. She thinks this is all her fault, and you know as well as the rest of us that it's not. She looks up to you, cares what you think. Hopefully the rest of us can get her over that, if the time ever comes…" He slammed his phone shut, still on an adrenaline high. "Crap. Hope I don't get fired for that."

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

Tony was just walking in the door of his apartment when his phone began to ring. He glanced at the number ….. Ahhhhh, let it go to voicemail, he needed a drink.

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

Somewhere in a Mexican cantina, the phone began to ring. The waitress glanced at it as she walked by with her tray full of drinks. Ehhhhh, the answering machine could pick it up. It was a full house tonight, she was muy busy. More important to keep the customers happy with their drinks than talk on the phone, she thought, as she heard the beep of the machine's message and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks everyone for all the Favoriting and Alerting - you made my day! I appreciate it very much.**

_**DISCLAIMER #1 : I own no part of NCIS or any of its' affiliates. How depressing.**_

_**DISCLAIMER #2: This chapter contains content of an M/MA nature, meaning non-con/rape (although not horribly graphic) and adult language. **If this isn't your cup of tea, **_**STOP RIGHT HERE**_** and read no further.****_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**CHAPTER 9**

_****FLASHBACK:**_ It was the not-so-gentle slaps on her cheeks that brought her around. Her vision was blurry, but she could see she was in a small, dimly-lit, sparsely furnished room. And there was a creepy voice crooning in her ear about it being time for her to wake up. Abby closed her eyes again and tried to figure out what was going on. Shirreff's team closed big case, happy bounce to the car….wait, she hadn't made it to her car….why?

Argh! All this thinking was making her head hurt more. Why does her head hurt, anyway? **Think, Sciuto**, use that brain of yours. Hmmm…closed case, happy bounce…then…._what? _Happy bounce…_grabbed. _Ok, she hadn't made it to her car because someone grabbed her arm. Someone… McGee? No, the grab was too rough, too much power behind it. McGee would never do that. Ziva? …. Definite possibilities….mmm, no, sluggish brain remembering a guy voice. Ok, what guys do I know… that aren't McGee. Or Palmer. Palmer was too much a gentleman to handle a woman like that. Besides, Abby had the feeling she kind of scared him. Most definitely **NOT **Ducky, the epitome of old fashioned manners and gentlemanliness….is that even a word?

**HEY! FOCUS HERE, SCIUTO! No rambling…got to figure this out!** Let's see….angry male…hmmmmm. Had she done anything to piss Gibbs off? Because he would do this if he was….in the country. Ok, not Gibbs. That leaves one guy. Tony. Angry voice, expensive suit… Tony. She'd been avoiding him lately, ever since they….**NO, don't go there, Abbs! **Angry voice, expensive suit…wait. The hands feel different. Can hands feel angry? Cuz these do….that's right, Abigail Sciuto's brain, coming back online at last! Without a doubt, the man that grabbed her was **NOT **Tony DiNozzo. No matter how mad he was, he would **never** touch a woman in anger, not with _his _childhood. He could never hurt a woman. So, Ok… no one from NCIS….

But the expensive suit? Tony was the only man she could think of that wore.. AAAHHHH! Her head hurt so much! Is it possible to she broke her brain? She mentally laughed-Science Geek humor.

Flash of Armani..Tone… _NO, not _Tony. Why can I see the suit and not the face?

"C'mon, Abbs, I need a face!"

"I'm working on it, Gibbs!"

"Well work faster! You need to wake up."

"Don't rush the science, Gibbs…." Her view rose up the impeccably clad torso….

"Start with the tie, Abbs. It'll take you to his face."

"Good thinking, Oh Wise One!" Her gaze followed the silk tie up…up… to the knot….

"Clean it up now, Abby."

Chin….bright, cocky smile just like Tony….

"Don't make me slap you like I do Tony, Abbs. Cuz it won't be on the head."

Ok,ok, sheesh. Tony's smile always had a degree of sincerity to it. This one doesn't, it's just… smarmy. Why didn't she ever notice that before, she wondered, almost certain she knew who this was now. A rapid trip up from the mouth to the hard eyes and annoyingly, meticulously styled dark hair…. _**THAD.**_

"'Atta' girl, Abbs. Knew you could do it." She felt the soft kiss on her cheek.

Well, shit. Thad Bensonhurst III had kidnapped her. Their last conversation - ok, ok, it was more like an argument - ran hyper speed through her memory. Yep, there it was. Thad telling her she'd regret breaking up with him, that _no one_ leaves TBIII until he said so. Abby had gotten in his face, asked if he was threatening her, he'd said no, it was a promise. Note to self, Abigail - in the future, take people at their word when they say that.

A resounding slap shook her out of her daze. "Wha'? … Why…?"

Thad grabbed her face, his fingers so tight she'd have bruises, forced her to look at him. "Good," he sneered. "You're with me again." He shook her head roughly by the fingers on either side of her mouth. "I told you, Abby. No one humiliates TBIII and gets away with it."

Abby tried to twist away from him but discovered her hands were tied behind her. And damn, tied tightly, at that. "I didn't," she croaked, "I didn't humiliate you. I just… just broke up with you." His eyes narrowed angrily. "Oh, c'mon Thad. You know we don't belong togeth…together." She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Fuck, she couldn't believe she was going to say this, it was so not her. " I mean, look… look at you…then look at _me_," her eyes pleaded. "We're just two diff..erent kinds of peop…people. You're suave, cool, high class…" Lordy, how did she keep herself from gagging as she said that? "and I'm… me. Hyper, goth, some would say odd-me, I'd say quirky-caffeine addict that has to work for a living." Ok, this was good. She could see he was listening. The grip on her face relaxed slightly. "We were just too different, Thad. You didn't like my music, my clothes. I didn't like you parents' dinner parties…" she whined.

_**SLAM**_** ! BANG!** The chair she was tied to fell over when Thad shoved her. She barely managed to hold back the cry as her head hit the floor. She watched, cringed, as Thad straddled her body and stood over her. He reached down, grabbed her by the collar around her neck, and pulled her up to meet him as he bent over.

"You're wrong, little bitch, thinking you were too good for me." he twisted one of her braids around his hand and pulled her closer, his breath hot on her face. "But it's the other way around. It's **ME **who's too good for **YOU. **And by the time I'm finished," he smiled nastily, "you'll understand your place." He released her braid and her collar at the same moment and her head bounced off the floor again.

She managed to hold in the sob until he'd stalked out of the room. As she started to cry, her headache increased - yep, concussion - and she knew she was going to pass out.

She started to come to when she felt a heavy weight settle on her. As things began to become clearer, it registered that she was now lying on a lumpy mattress. Her wrists were still tied together, but no longer behind her back. She felt a breeze, felt goosebumps raise on her arms and belly, back, breasts….what? How… she was naked. Her brain de-fogged all at once. She was lying on her back, naked, and that weight… on her lower body… that was…THAD! Was he…. OhmyGod, he **was!** His…. His…. _**thing **_(very scientific term there, Abigail) was inside her. Oh my God. He was fucking her….wait….she'd been unconscious….Abby gasped in both shock and pain. Oh Holy Shit - she was being **raped! **She pathetically tried to put up a fight, but with her hands tied above her head it was useless.

"Ohhhh yeahhhhh, bitch," Thad groaned. "Fight me. C'mon, I love it when they fight!" He pummeled in and out of her, going harder, faster. Getting up on his knees, he grabbed Abby by the hips and roughly pulled her closer to him, pleased when she cried out as she was forced harder onto his cock, this position allowing him to go deeper. He chuckled cruelly, leaned down and licked the tears off her cheek. Her pleas and cries were better than any drug, sending him flying. Mmmmm, yeah. Soon. He could feel it, the tingling, starting deep down in his balls. Yes, yes, yes, yes…he was in a sexual haze, the squirming, the crying, the screams, only serving to increase his lust.

He slapped Abby's naked breasts, delighting in the obvious pain it caused, mesmerized by the red imprint of his hand on the tender flesh. "You fuck with me, Abby, " he rasped in her ear, "I'll fuck you right back!" And with a final, deep thrust, he erupted inside her, grunting and growling like an animal. Lungs heaving, he rolled off Abby's shuddering body and got up. "Should have done this right from the beginning," he said crudely, "let you know right from the start who's in charge." He wiped the stickiness from his cock with the sheet and tossed it back on the bed. As he left, he laughed when Abby curled to her side away from his eyes, knees up to her chest. Damn, but he loved showing these bitches who was in charge. The door slammed behind him.

Abby groaned and squirmed uncomfortably at the pain between her legs. She'd stopped crying a while ago. It wasn't doing her any good, the crying, so she tried to focus on her body, cataloging each ache and pain. It seemed there wasn't a place on her body that didn't hurt. She had several bruises along her torso that she could see, a set of teeth marks on her right breast-that would need to be photographed so it can be matched with dental impressions. Her wrists, still tied together, were rubbed raw, the left one bleeding slowly.

She took a deep breath (good, no indications of broken ribs), let it out slowly. Ok, she'd been beaten, but there was nothing requiring immediate medical attention. Yes, she been… _spit it out Sciuto…._ raped. But even that, in time, would heal. Ok. So. All she had to do now was wait for her team to show up and rescue her.

She could see it now. Tony would kick in the door, McGee and Ziva, guns drawn, would charge in behind him and separate, one going left the other right. They'd begin searching - she'd hear their shouts of "Clear!" Until from somewhere, she'd hear perhaps Ziva yelling, "NCIS! FREEZE!" But Abby knew Thad wouldn't-he's pretty much a wuss, so he'd rabbit. McGee and Tony would both yell for him to stop, and when he wouldn't, they'd give chase. She'd hear Tony once again tell Thad to stop, then… a gunshot… and quiet.

The next sound she'd hear would be three sets of footsteps running around looking for her. She'd call to them, giving them her location. The door to her dingy prison would crash open. And there'd Tony be, gun at the ready, her avenging angel. Seeing she was alone, he'd put his gun away and rush to her side. "Abby!" He'd hug her, pull away when she groaned in pain. "Oh Abbs…" He'd take out his knife and cut her wrists free, check them over, wince at their rawness, then take a minute to look over her other injuries.

She'd be sobbing, of course, and Tony would wipe away her tears and gently pull her into his arms, mumbling soft words of comfort in her ear, telling her she was safe now, Thad would never hurt her again.

And Abby knew that she would cling to Tony. And knew that when all…._this_….was settled, she'd apologize to him for the way she'd been acting towards him since that night.

If there was _one_ good thing that she would take away from this, it was that she was hopelessly, irresistibly, indubitably in love with Tony DiNozzo.

And any moment now, he'd charge in, her white knight. She dozed off with a small smile (her cheeks hurt too much for a real one) on her lips.

_**END FLASHBACK *NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

Jenny Shepherd sat with Abby as the young woman slept, watching the play of emotions on her face. Grimaces and groans, Jenny knew, were flashes of Bensonhurst hurting her. At one point, tears rolled down Abby's cheeks. But then, a look of… hope? Abby's lips softened, her wrinkled brow relaxed, and Jenny wondered what could have brought on the change. Until…..

"Tony," Abby whispered with reverence, on a sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks again for all the alerts and favoriting! Makes me happy! But leaving a review would put me over the moon! Thanks!**

_**DISCLAIMER #1: This chapter rated M/MA for language and sexual situations. If this offends you, THEN DON'T READ IT! Simple as that.**_

_**DISCLAIMER #2: My New Years' Resolution - to own just a **_**piece**_** of NCIS. Alas, that has not happened yet. But the year is young! I have 364 days left to obtain my goal! **_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**CHAPTER 10**

Drinking from his fourth bottle of beer, Tony dropped unceremoniously onto his comfy sofa and made himself comfortable. Bottle in one hand, remote in the other, he surfed through his 300 channels on TV, but at 2 AM, even the all-sports stations were showing those blasted infomercials. "It slices! It dices!" he said along with the commercial. "It'll even wash your car!" he mimicked in his announcer voice. "Isn't there **one** of these stupid things that isn't about food?" He listlessly went through the channels over and over. "Hey, shampoo! That's not food…." "All this can be yours for only - say it with me, people - $19.95!" "Call now and we'll **double** your order **absolutely free!** - Yeah, cuz **everyone** wants more than one set of socket wrenches…why would anyone **need** more than one?" "Oooo, scrapbooking….huh….wonder if McCrafty has one of those…"

It was after seven beers when the Perfect Pasta Pot was starting to look like something he needed that he decided it was time to change over from mindless TV to mindless movies. He stood before his expansive DVD library, looking for something to make him forget for a while. His eyes stopped dead on his Magnum, P.I. DVDs - or cheer him for a while. Magnum it is.

Tony started the show - with season 1, of course - and hurried off to the kitchen for a bag of pretzels and yet another beer. He was just slouching into the perfect Magnum comfy position as the show's opening theme began, and he smiled. As the show progressed he even tossed a pretzel or 2 into the air and caught them in his mouth. Life was good - for just a few hours, he could forget his responsibilities. Responsibilities…. Abby. Lying-in-a-hospital-bed, hurt-in-the-worst-way-possible, Abby. The pretzel bounced off his nose and down behind one of the couch cushions.

He grimaced as he reached down between the cushions to retrieve the errant pretzel. Apparently he wasn't drunk enough if she could still distract him. Tony's fingers closed around an object and he pulled it up. Huh… so that's where that went….he tossed it aside and dug back in for that pretzel. Ah yes, his finger hooked in one of the holes and he gently brought it up….. Only it wasn't his snack.

A black, red, and white skull hair thingy. Tony clenched his fingers around it and squeezed his eyes closed. He brought the thingy to his nose and inhaled the scent of her shampoo, vanilla and gunpowder. "Abby," he groaned, flopping back on the pillows, trying his best not to cry. Not cool to cry in front of Thomas Magnum. "Damn. Abby…."

_****FLASHBACK****_

_Through the sexual haze he barely heard the buzz of his cell. Dammit, the team was off this weekend. All thoughts of the phone fled as Daphne, his woman du jour, finished unbuttoning his white dress shirt and proceeded to kiss and lick her way down his muscled chest and stomach. He groaned and tangled a hand in her hair as she began unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. Gasping when her hand reached into his boxer briefs and curled around his hard shaft, he pushed his head harder into the bed pillows. "Mmmmm, yeah baby… feels so good…" He helped Daphne slide his pants and briefs off , but before she could go back to what she was doing, he took her mouth in a fiery kiss. He bit her lower lip as his hand traveled to the side of her dress and slowly began the process of removing her gorgeous, tight, red - and did he mention tight? - silk dress. She shimmied as he helped her out of it, the movement causing those amazing breasts and that fine ass to jiggle._

_He groaned. He couldn't help himself - his head dipped and he pulled a hard nipple into his mouth, sucking, licking, nipping at it like he was on death row and this was his last meal. He smiled, pleased with himself when he heard Daphne groan his name. He lay her gently down on the bed, his mouth alternating between both breasts, kissing the valley in between them. _

_Tony sat up and took a moment to appreciate the vision before him. Daphne lying on his bed, wearing nothing but a lacy red thong and a sultry smile. "Like what you see, Tony?" she purred, bending up a knee._

_He growled his cat-like growl and said, "Oh, 'like' isn't strong enough a word for how I feel right now." He growled again as her hand came around his impressive erection again. "And you, Miss Moss? Do you…__**like**__… what you see?" he asked slyly as he lay down next to her and began kissing and nipping his way down her neck, scraping his teeth along her collarbone. He felt a burst of pride at her moan that… became a buzzing sound? Damned cell phone again. He entertained the thought of answering for a moment, but then Daphne's thumb did a little something on the head of his cock that drove everything else out of his head. Tony sucked in a breath. "Ahhh, shit, baby…" he gasped._

"_You like that?" Daphne crooned, hand still playing on his shaft. _

"_**Like **__it?" he choked out. "You keep doing that, darlin', and this will be over before it starts." He groaned when her hand gently squeezed his cock, and he thought he would pass out as those pouty red lips came down, down, down, sucking him in. "Ohhhhhh fuck, baby. Mmmmm, that's right, suck it, suck that cock, baby…. So fuckin' good," he ground out between tightly clenched teeth, winding his hands in Daphne's hair, keeping her where he wanted her. Her moans and whimpers almost did him in. MAN, she could suck cock! He decided it was time to take the upper hand (so to speak) before he came too soon, embarrassing the DiNozzo name._

_Sliding a leg between hers, with practiced ease he flipped them over so that he was now on top. "My turn to play," he growled, his senses on overload at the look, touch, and smell of her. As he nibbled and kissed his way around her ear and down her neck, his hand traveled down her body. Her gasps and moans were music to his ears. Just as his hand slid under the elastic of her panties, that damned phone buzzed again. Dammit, if this was someone from his team….. He grabbed up the offending phone and glanced at the incoming number. He didn't recognize it so, somewhat angrily, he tossed said phone across the room to the chair by the armoire. "Now," he said in a husky voice, "where were we?"_

_Daphne grabbed his hand and brought it down to her swollen, wet slit. "Mmmmm, lover," she groaned, "You were right…about… he-e-e-e-eerrrrrreeee!" she yelped as Tony dipped a finger into her wetness._

_He chuckled, watching Daphne's eyes close in ecstasy. A flush started blossoming across her breasts as she began thrusting her hips up, taking two of his fingers now, deeper inside her slick tunnel. Tony could tell she was trying to hold off an orgasm, but he wasn't about to let that happen. He whispered hot words of encouragement, urging her to give in and let go. Her cries only served to increase his own lust. "That's it….yeah, baby….. Mmmmmm, c'mon, c'mon, give it to me, let me see it, yeah, babe. You gonna' cum? Huh? You need to cum? So fuckin' wet, baby, ohh yeah. Mmmmm, yeah darlin', you're so tight around my fingers… you'll be even tighter around my cock baby." He groaned as Daphne arched her back and screamed his name over and over and came all over his fingers and hand. "Ohhhhh yeah, there it is.. Yeah, yeah, yeah, c'mon baby, give it all to me…." He ground his mouth down on Daphne's, swallowing her cries, softening the kiss as she started to come down. Her tongue tangled with his almost leisurely. _

"_Ohhhhhhhhhh To-o-o-onnnnnnnnny," she sighed, her hands still gripping his hair. _

"_I've only just started," Tony said, his voice raspy. He slid down the bed, nibbling and licking her soft, silky skin as he went, dipping his tongue into her belly button, grinning when she shivered. His tongue continued to play in and around her belly button as his hands crept down and removed that scrap of red, lacy thong, sliding it down and off her ankles. He inhaled her musky scent and began to salivate. He couldn't wait to taste her. He started trailing his tongue down…down…meeting that little strip of hair…._

_The shrill ring of his landline jolted him, his tongue losing its' place, making him curse. "Let the machine get it," he murmured to himself, and started his trip down from that adorable belly button again. He listened to his outgoing message with one ear, trying to divide his attention between listening and licking.. He had just gotten his first taste of her clit when the voice on the machine stopped him cold._

"_Tony, are you there? …. (sniffle) Tony?"_

**A/N: Argh! What a place to leave off! Who could it be on the phone? Who could have the power to make Tony forget a woman in his bed? Tune in next chapter to find out!**

**And oh yeah - leave a review please! They can only help make this a better story! ~Smush68**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Another flashback chapter. Boy, this is one lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng flashback Tony's having! It's probably lasted longer than it did in real time! Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews and alerts and favorites - they make my day. Seriously. Feel free to leave reviews - love 'em!**

_**DISCLAIMER #1: This fic is rated M/MA for language and adult situations. If this isn't your thing, then don't read it! That simple!**_

_**DISCLAIMER #2: No matter how hard The Powers That Be at both NCIS and CBS want it to be so, I own no part of NCIS, CBS, or any affiliates thereof. Sorry, boys! Ain't gonna happen. **_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 11**

_**FLASHBACK (continued):**_ "Tony, are you there? (sniffle) Tony?" the meek, teary voice asked.

Every urge in Tony's body froze, like someone had dumped a tub of ice on him, as the voice on the machine gave a hiccupy sob.

"Tone…. Please? Are you home? (sniff, sniffle) Duh, it's Sa…Saturday night, of **course** you're not home, (sniffle) you're out on a date… (sob)… It's just… I need….. Um, I tried calling Mc…McGee, and he's not ho..home, and, and Ziva's on…on a date, and I (sniffle, sniff)…I need….(sniff)"

Tony couldn't get out of the bed fast enough, Daphne-hot, gorgeous, sex-on-2-legs Daphne-naked in his bed, forgotten. Abby was calling him for help. And she was crying. "ABBY!… Yeah, I'm home….no, no, it's OK… Abby… Abby, calm….. Breathe, Abbs. What's wrong?" He tucked the phone between his chin and his ear and grabbed his pants off the floor in a rush and began putting them on. "Are you OK, baby girl?" he murmured tenderly, grabbing up his shirt. "Abbs… Ab…Abby, listen…no, listen to me, are you listening? …. ABBY!" He winced as she started crying all over again. "I'm sorry, baby girl, I didn't mean to yell at you… are you listening to me now?"

Tony cringed as Abby told him how she'd tried so many times to call him on his cell… the calls he'd ignored… where _was_ his cell…. His eyes swept the room, across the bed…. Where a very naked, very angry Daphne now glared at him. Oops - never call one woman baby girl while in bed with another… he cupped his hand over the receiver. "My sister," he whispered. If looks could kill, his dick would fall off right about now. "Honest. Sister. _Little_ sister." He ran across the room, attention back on Abby, and grabbed up his cell. "Ok, listen Abbs, where are you, I'll come get you….no, **no** cab, it's," he checked his watch, "almost 1 AM, I don't want you in a cab this late alone…. Don't you _**DARE**_ walk, you hear me, Abigail?" he ordered. "Just stay there, either at the door or at the bar, I'll come find you, Ok?" Tony closed his eyes as he listened to his little sister in all but blood cry, knowing it wasn't _all_ about what happened tonight. He wanted to cry _**for**_ her. "Abby," he said softly, tenderly, "I will _ALWAYS_ find you…."

Dressed now, he searched for his wallet and keys. "Just wait for me, OK? I'm on my way. See you in a little bit, OK?…. Ok… Oh, hey, Abbs… whaddya mean, you called McNerd first?" He smiled as he heard in her voice that she was smiling. "Ok, I'll be there in a bit, and we'll discuss this 'calling McGeek first' thing then, OK? …. Ok… Yeah?" he smiled a small smile. "you're welcome, Abbs. Be right there."

Nothing but getting to Abby on his mind, the voice from behind him as he made to leave the bedroom shocked him. Shit. He'd completely forgotten about Daphne.

"Is she really your sister?" She glared at him.

He felt like a little boy standing in front of the school principal. "Uh, I… I gotta'…"

"Yeah, I heard," Daphne fumed. "Is this.. 'Abby' _REALLY _your sister?"

Tony gulped, trying to figure out how to salvage this so she'd see him again. "Not just sister. _LITTLE_ sister," he said quickly. "She's at a club and her friends ditched her, left her without a ride." He swept his wallet and keys into his pocket. "She's been going through a rough time lately to begin with, and now, they just up and left her, didn't even tell her they were leaving." He gave her his best puppy-dog eyed look. "I'm sorry, baby, but… my little sister… what kind of big brother would I be if I didn't help her out?" He gave himself a mental high-five when Daphne's features softened.

"Oooohhhh, poor thing," she crooned, climbing out of the bed and began dressing. "Is she OK?"

Tony felt a pang of regret as he watched the red silk cover up those gorgeous breasts. He unconsciously took a few steps toward her, body remembering why they were here, even if the mind did not.

"Tony?…" Daphne asked, breaking the spell. "Is your sister OK? Can I do anything?"

He walked the few steps back to Daphne and framed her beautiful face with his hands. Staring into her eyes he said, "You…are… amazing." He risked a soft kiss, stopping himself before he wouldn't be able to stop. "The kid's OK, just shaken up, a little scared." He kissed her one more time then took her hand and led her to the front door, where he helped her on with her coat. Tony turned her to him and took both her hands in his. "Babe, I'm so sorry about tonight…"

Daphne put a long, red-lacquered fingernailed finger over his lips. "It's OK, Tony. I understand. Besides," she smirked a sultry smile, "that sweet, sensitive side, the 'protector' side of you…." she ran her fingernail gently across his lips. "…_very _sexy, " she hinted.

Little DiNozzo (who, in truth, is **not** so little), was telling him that Daphne may not be a lost opportunity after all! "Thanks." he smiled that patented DiNozzo charming smile. "You're an angel. A very… _sexy_.. Angel… for understanding." He put on his most sincere face. "Raincheck?"

With a devilish smile, Daphne leaned in and let her lips and tongue give him the answer. "You've got my number, darling. Use it."

It took Tony a moment to come back to Earth. "Oh, I will most _definitely_ be using it." Opening the door, he ushered her out, closing the door behind himself. "Let me walk you to your car…"

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

As he pulled his 'stang up in front of Club Topico, Tony grimaced. This wasn't one of the nicer sections of the city - in fact, it made the term 'seedy' seem tame - and it bothered him to think of Abby hanging around down here. The steady downpour certainly added to the dingy atmosphere.

Tony flicked on his hazard lights as he double-parked right in front of the door. The rain soaked him in seconds and chilled him to the bone as he got out of the car. The cop in him was _slightly_ happy to see that the club was at least well-lit, if rather loud. He headed for the big, burly guy he figured for the club's bouncer. "Excuse me…"

The hulk turned, straightened, making himself appear even larger. "Sorry, club's at max."

Tony shook his head. "No, I don't want to go in, I'm looking for…." he stopped when he noticed the bulky guy eyeing him up and down. Tony raised an eyebrow in response.

"You Tony?" the guy questioned suspiciously.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief - the guy knew Abby. "Yeah, I'm…"

The bouncer nodded to his left, toward the neon-signed windows. "She's over there."

Startled, Tony looked in the direction the other guy indicated. And saw a small, dark-haired, soaking-wet lump sitting on the sidewalk, knees up to her chin, face in her lap. He melted. "Oh Abby," he whispered to himself. She didn't seem to notice as he walked closer to her. Damn, she was soaked through, she must have been waiting out here the whole time. His heart squeezed, thinking about all those calls on his cell that he'd ignored. He stopped right next to her.

"Go 'way," said Abby, voice muffled by her knees. "Not interested."

Tony smirked, hoping to lighten the mood. "Then I guess I came all the way down here - in a deluge, I might add - for nothing?"

"Yea… _**TONY**_**!**" Jumping up, Abby wrapped her arms around him and clung like a leech. Her braids were dripping at the ends, the black button-up blouse so saturated, it fit like a second skin. Before he could look away, he could tell she wasn't wearing a bra. _SISTER, _Tony, he reminded himself. Her red and black checked pleated skirt had lost some of its' pleats with all the moisture.

Before she'd buried her face in his chest, he'd seen the smeared make-up and mascara tracks down her cheeks. Rain or tears, he didn't know. He hugged her to him just as tightly and rocked, resting his chin on top of her head. "It's OK….shhhhhhh," he murmured tenderly, running his hands up and down her back, hoping to warm her a little. " 'S'Ok, Abbs, I'm here."

Tony held onto her until he felt her sobs starting to ease a little. He held her at arms' length, checking her over to make sure she was OK. With a crooked finger under her chin, he nudged her face up so she'd have to look at him. He winced at the utter devastation he saw in her eyes, and he wiped a black tear away with his thumb as he held her head in his hands. "Oh, Abbs," he said softly, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. "C'mon, let's go get you warm and dry, Ok?" She nodded silently and let him take her hand and lead her to his car.

As Tony opened the passenger door and stepped back to let her in, Abby took a small step back. "I'll ruin the seats," she rasped.

He took her face in his hands again so she'd have to look him in the eye and see how serious he was. "I'd rather have wet, ruined seats than a wet, ruined Abby…." He stepped back, and with a hand at her shoulder blades helped her into the car and slammed the door. As he walked quickly around the back of the car, he took a moment to grieve. "My seats…." Then he got in on his side and they started off.

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

He'd decided to take her to his place - more room, for one thing - and the comfy-er couch. Looking at her now, he guessed they'd be up 'til daybreak at least, talking.

After about 10 minutes of silence, Abby spoke. "Thanks, Tony." Her voice was still watery.

Sitting at a red light, he reached his right arm out and put his hand on the back of her neck. He looked at her and gave her neck a gentle squeeze. "Hey. You don't need to thank me, Abby. This is what friends-slash-big brothers do for their friends-slash-little sisters." He gave her neck a little bit harder - but still gentle - squeeze, so she'd look at him. "I'm here cuz I wanna be, OK?" She nodded slowly. "I'm always going to be here for you, Abbs. You know that, right?" he said in a low voice.

Abby nodded and burst into tears again. Tony wanted to pull her to him and hold her, but the light turned green . It could wait 'til he got them back home.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: OK, THIS CHAPTER GETS A LITTLE ANGSTY, AND I'VE NEVER WRITTEN REAL ANGST BEFORE, SO I HOPE I DO THE CHARACTERS JUSTICE. THIS IS STILL PART OF TONY'S FLASHBACK. WE'RE GETTING TO THE GOOD STUFF SOON, I PROMISE! AND THIS FLASHBACK WILL BE OVER SOON,TOO,I PROMISE! HAPPY READING, AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. EITHER WAY, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW-I NEED VALIDATION! Lol**

_**DISCLAIMER: THIS FIC IS RATED M/MA - FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. IF THIS IS NOT YOU (WELL,AGE-WISE,ANYWAY-YOU CAN BE JUVENILE LIKE DiNOZZO, THAT'S OK!) TURN BACK NOW. **_

_**YET ANOTHER DISCLAIMER: IN NO WAY DO I CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH NCIS - I'M JUST BORROWING MY FAVE CHARACTERS FOR THE DURATION OF THIS FIC. I WILL RETURN THEM - SLIGHTLY USED - WHEN IM DONE.**_

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**CHAPTER 12**

**FLASHBACK (**_**CONTINUED)**_

By the time they arrived at his apartment building, Tony noticed that Abby had begun to shiver, even with the heat turned on high. Was that chattering her teeth, or the tiny silver bones on her earrings? When he'd parked and come around to help her out, her hand in his told him that her chill was more emotional than physical. Her fingers, while a bit chilly, weren't as cold as he'd expected them to be. He slung an arm across her shoulders, pulling her to his side as they walked toward the apartment complex. "C'mon, my Dark Princess. Let's go get you warmed up."

Laying her head against his chest, Abby sighed and sniffled. "Thanks, my Italian Prince."

Tony smiled and swept the door open in a grand gesture, ushering her in, then resumed their former position as they waited for the elevator. Listening to her sniffling, he was already kind of dreading the rest of the evening. He knew how it would go - it would start out about her friends, but end up an emotional rant over Gibbs. Tony sighed. He'd thought that she was past all this, that he'd gotten her over the hump, so to speak. Oh sure, she still had a blue moment here and there, but he could always joke her out of those. He didn't think his repertoire of impressions and movie quotes was going to cut it tonight.

As they got on the elevator, he looked down at the top of Abby's head, and she sniffled again, burying her nose in his t-shirt. "You'd better not be wiping your nose on my shirt, Sciuto. This one was actually clean when I put it on." He smiled at the little tilt of her lips and the tiny giggle she tried to hide.

"Ooops! Sorry!" She said, smiling just a little.

When they reached Tony's apartment, Tony went into Mother Hen Mode. Sitting her on the couch with an afghan over her shoulders, he went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of red wine. "Let's start with this. I've got brandy heating on the stove, if you start to smell anything."

"Ooooo! The famous DiNozzo Hot Toddy! I can't wait!" Abby joked, taking a small sip of the wine.

He rolled his eyes as he moved to the fireplace. She began to feel bad. "You don't have to go to all this trouble, Tony," she mumbled softly.

Tony stood, having finished arranging logs, and put a finger on her lips. "It's no trouble, Abbs." He took his finger from her lips and tapped her temple with it. "I know what you're thinking, baby girl," he said softly, "and yes, you **ARE** worth it. OK?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Tears threatening again, all Abby could do was nod. She watched silently as Tony lit the wood, and she unconsciously leaned forward as the flames began to grow. She hadn't realized she was so cold.

Sitting on the coffee table in front of her, Tony reached out with both hands and gave Abby's arms a brisk rub. "You'll start to warm up soon. You hang here for a minute, I'm gonna' go get a hot bath going for you, OK?"

Abby nodded half-heartedly, feeling like a bother. "Don't go to…" She stopped at the look on Tony's face. "OK, OK, I'll just say 'thank you'."

Tony leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "Eeewwww, squishy!" he teased, earning a small smile as he stood. "Now you're getting the idea," he said with a wink. "Back in a minute."

As she heard the water start in the bathroom, Abby took a moment for a pity party, letting the tears fall again. She was tired. So tired of everyone leaving her.

Tony came quietly back from the bathroom to see silent tears on Abby's cheeks. He took her hands and pulled her up into a hug. "It's OK, Abbs." He then walked her to the master bath. Abby always thought a family of 4 could live in it comfortably. The room was already feeling warm from the heat rising from the tub. The scent of lavender hung lightly in the air, and Abby was astonished to see all the foamy bubbles in the Jacuzzi-slash-tub.

She was staring at the tub like she'd never seen one before so he gave her a little nudge. "You OK?" he asked, watched as she nodded, eyes still on the tub. "Do you….need…..help?" he asked, a little uncomfortably, relieved when she shook her head no. Then it must be…. "The bubbles too much?" Tony jumped, startled, when Abby threw herself into his arms again. "What? I can't hear you, kiddo."

Abby raised her head from Tony's chest just a little. "The bubbles are perfect," she said softly, "it's just been a long time since someone…." she trailed off, a little embarrassed.

Tony nudged her chin up with a knuckle. "Then you've been hanging around with the wrong people." He unwrapped her arms from around his middle. "Now hurry up before it cools off. Kind of defeats the purpose of warming you up." He turned her to face the vanity. "Here's towels. You know where they are if you need more. The flannel nightshirt you left here last time…. Need anything else?" Abby shook her head. "OK. You take your time, OK? I'm not going anywhere, so just relax and enjoy it, OK?" He headed for the door as Abby nodded. "And if you need anything, give a yell." He stopped at the door, a little worried about leaving her alone. Before he could turn to leave, however, Abby quickly leaned up and brushed a kiss on his cheek. He gave her a wink and a small smile. "You're welcome."

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

Abby looked at herself in the wall-sized vanity mirror, drying her hair with a towel. She leaned in, staring at herself - the REAL her - the one with no make-up, no funky jewelry or clothes. Putting the towel down, she picked up her knee-length flannel nightshirt and put it on, then stared at herself closely again. Yep, even in a red nightshirt with tiny white skeletons all over it, she could see it. She just wasn't good enough, no matter what she did. That's why everyone kept leaving her. "You're nothing, Abby Sciuto. Why would anyone want to hang around you, when you're just a big blob of nothing." She turned and picked all the clothes and towels off the floor and put them in the hamper. She gave herself one last look in the mirror as she headed out the door. "Nothing," she whispered to herself.

Abby shuffled out of the bathroom some 45 minutes later, looking bedraggled but relaxed. Tony looked up and saw her, and put down the book he was reading. "There's my little ragamuffin," he teased, standing up and walking over to her. Hands on her shoulders, he studied her make-up free face. "How you feelin', muffin?"

Abby rolled her eyes at the nickname and shrugged. "Warmer," she rasped.

"Good." Tony led her over to the couch and sat her closest to the fire. "I'm going to go get your DiNozzo's Famous Hot Toddy, OK?" He moved for the kitchen as Abby sank back into the cushions, pulling her legs up under her.

Listening to Tony putter around in the kitchen was comforting to her - she didn't feel so alone, knowing someone was just a room away. She picked up the book Tony had been reading… a text on blood spatter analysis? Whoa, wouldn't the team like to know…. Her smile faded a bit. No, after all he's done for her tonight, she can't rat on him to the team. Running a hand through her hair, she could feel it was still a little damp, so she stood and walked closer to the fireplace. She hung her head upside down and proceeded to flip and fluff her hair, drying it in front of the fire.

"Awwww, you look so Little House on the Prairie, in your flannel nightgown, drying your hair by the fire," Tony joked, setting down a tray with 2 large mugs full of steaming amber liquid, a sugar bowl, a bear of honey, and a bowl of cut up lemon wedges. "DiNozzo's Famous Hot Toddy, at your service, 'Laura', he teased.

Abby looked at him, head still upside down. "If I'm Laura, that makes YOU, Pa," she threatened.

Tony winced. "OK, OK, no Little House here." He watched Abby, thinking how uncomfortable that position had to be. He grabbed a wing chair and dragged it closer to the fire. He directed Abby to sit on the floor in front of the chair and handed her her warm drink. "Prepared just the way you like it, lots of sugar. Want any honey, lemon?" He squeezed the dollop of honey she asked for in, then did the same with a lemon wedge. "There we go. Drink up." He tossed her a couple of throw pillows to get comfortable on the floor. Abby sat on one and hugged the other tightly to her chest as Tony sat down in the chair behind her. She jumped a bit when she felt a brush gently glide through her hair. "Relax, Abbs," Tony murmured, and continued brushing her hair.

Between the fire warming her outsides, the drink warming her insides, and the hairbrushing massaging her head, Abby could feel her body begin to relax. She opened her eyes when she heard Tony set the hairbrush down. She took a scrunchie off her wrist and handed it back to him.

Tony looked at the hair thingy Abby had handed to him. Black with red and white skulls. "We're definitely not on the prairie anymore." He twisted her hair up into a loose ponytail. Abby leaned back, put her head on his knee, and wrapped and arm around his leg.

"Thanks, Tony," she mumbled.

"Anytime, Abbs," he answered, a hand on the top of her head. They sat silently for a few minutes, until…. "What, Abby? I didn't hear you."

She picked her head up off his knee and looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I said, 'what's wrong with me'."

"Wha-a-at? Whaddya mean, 'wrong with you'? There's **nothing** wrong with you," Tony said, concerned.

Abby shook her head. "There's got to be **some**thing wrong with me…. Everybody keeps leaving me," she sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks.

'Here we go,' Tony thought to himself. He reached down and found one of Abby's hands and pulled her up onto his lap, tucking her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "What happened tonight, Abbs?

She began telling the story of the evening, her friends Trish, Dante, and Angie picking her up, checking out the traffic at their favorite clubs, and someone suggesting they try Club Topico for a change. "Everything was going great," she sniffled. "Trish was kinda drinking a lot, so I decided to be designated driver. Stuck to plain ol' Red Bulls the rest of the night. We were dancing, having a good time (sniffle). I didn't know there was anything wrong. They had all just ordered another round, so I decided to go to the little girls' room."

Tony gave her a squeeze. "What happened, kid?"

Abby began to cry harder. "I…I came back to the tab….table (sniffle, gasp for breath) and..and…and everyone was g-gone," she said, sobbing. "I thought… thought maybe they were dan-dancing, so I wait-waited for a few min-minutes at the table. (sniff)" She wrapped her arms around Tony's middle, snuggling deeper into his shoulder. "Wh-wh-when no-no one came back, I went-went looking (sniffle) for them," she said with a watery hiccup. "They weren't on the dance fl-floor, or at the bar, or the ba-bath-bathrooms (sob). I…I…I asked around, and-and-and the bouncer told me, told me that they'd lef-left!"

Tony wanted to find those so-called friends and string them up. He cuddled Abby close. "Ssshhhhhh, s'OK, Abby," he whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"So ya' see?" She cried. "They just up and left me, did-didn't say g'bye or any-anything!" She buried her face back into his shoulder. "So there's some-something wr-wrong with me, Tony." She didn't listen to his protests. "Yes there **is**, or-or everyone would-wouldn't leave m-m-m-me."

Tony kissed the top of her head again and spoke softly in her ear. "You listen to me, Abigail Sciuto. There is nothing - I repeat, **nothing** - wrong with you. Hear me?" he ordered gently. She nodded against his neck. "You're smart, funny, caring." He hugged her tight. "You're a sweet, genuine person, beautiful inside and out," he stated. He nudged her up so she could see the truth in his eyes. "And if someone can't see that, then the problem is with **them**, not **you**." His eyes softened. "**Never** you, Abbs."

"Then-then why?" she hiccupped. "They left without saying goodbye. Just … left me…. And Gibbs, he just left me, too! No reason, no goodbye…." She started hyperventilating. "**He** loves me, and he left… just a kiss on the cheek… he really knows me, and he **left**… what if… did he **ever **love me? How could he, it's all my fault, the way I dress, my music…. It has to be **something**, Tony… otherwise Gibbs wouldn't have just….left. Not without saying he loved me…. Or at least, goodbye….."

Tony's legs were beginning to fall asleep. He struggled to stand and pulled Abby behind him to the couch. He flopped down and stretched his legs out onto the coffee table. "C'mere, baby girl," he said, holding out his arms. Abby snuggled right up. "Gibbs' leaving was **not** your fault Abby, you know that. And he didn't leave just you-he left Ziva, Ducky, McGee… me."

"But at least he **said** something to you guys. He didn't say a **word **to me. He just…walked away. Why, Tony? Why didn't he love me?"

It was close to 4 AM when Abby began to wind down. She'd been through all the stages - the crying why's, followed by the pacing, angry how-could-he's, and then had finally made it to the exhausted resignation stage.

"…..he's gone, and I just have to accept it."

Tony had one arm around Abby, holding her to his chest. The other hand subconsciously held her hand over his heart. "Gibbs may have left you, Abbs, but you're not alone, you know that, right?" He felt her nod against his chest. "Let me hear you say it."

"To-o-onnnnnnnyyyyy," she whined.

"No, c'mon. You won't believe it 'til you say it out loud. Say it. 'I'm not alone.' C'mon," he cajoled.

"I'mmmfn nnuummen…." She muttered into his chest.

"Couldn't hear you, Abigail. 'I'm not alone.' C'mon, give it to me, sister. Nice n' loud."

"I'm not alone," she grumbled, pouting. Tony put a hand to his ear. "**I'm not alone!" **she said loudly.

Tony smiled and kissed her forehead. "That's my girl."

Abby smiled shyly, playing with the neck of his t-shirt. "Tony?" she began meekly.

He rubbed his cheek on the top of her head. "Yeah, Abby?"

She looked up at him shyly, then away. "You… you won't leave me, will you?"

Tony sighed and pulled back slightly so he could look her in the eye. "I have no plans - nor desire - at the moment to leave you, Abbs. And if -or** when** - I ever do, I'll tell you first, OK?" He waited for her slow nod "OK. You're my best friend, Abby Sciuto. I won't go anywhere without making sure you're OK."

Abby curled the hand above his heart into his shirt. "Thanks, Tony." She sighed, tears finally done. "Not just for tonight… for everything. You're a good friend, Anthony DiNozzo, and I'm lucky to have you as my friend."

Tony smiled that smart-alecky smile. Emotions were getting a little too much for him. "Yes, you are!" It had the desired effect as Abby giggled. They both laughed when her stomach gurgled with hunger.

Abby got up reluctantly. "I'm going to go raid your fridge. Want anything?"

Tony waved her off. "Nah, I'm good. Help yourself." He stood up, back cracking as he stretched. 'Getting too old for this' he thought to himself. "I'm going to pop in a movie. Any requests?" he called across the apartment.

"Nothing too gory," Abby yelled back. "I **am** eating, after all." Tony set about picking a movie - Monty Python and the Holy Grail - and lay on the couch as he heard Abby returning.

She stopped by the dining table, seeing the table setting for the first time. Slightly burned candles, silver utensils, fancy plates, roses in the center of the table…. "Oh my god… you **were **on a date… Tony! Why didn't you tell me? You should have said something when I called! Ohmygod! You cooked her dinner and everything, and I screwed it all up.. I'm so sorry, Tony!"

Tony came to her as she started crying again. "Abby…."

"I can't believe… I ruin **everything**, I shouldn't have called you…"

He couldn't get a word in edgewise. "Yes, you should have, Abby, I'm **glad** you called me…. Abby… Abbs! Stop… no, I'm not mad about the date, it's OK… Abby…. Ab…. " She was getting hysterical all over again, and this time it was **his** fault. He tried talking to her, but she wasn't hearing a word he said.

So he shut her up the only way he could think of…

**A/N: Ohhhhh how AWFUL of me to leave it to end there! You'll have to tune in to Lucky Chapter 13 to find out just **_**how**_** Dinozzo gets Abby to shut up….. And it ain't with a Caf-Pow, people!**

**Remember - Read and Review, please! I'll give each of you that reviews a tiny piece of MY tiny piece of NCIS…..**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: At last, here is the next chapter in the story, Lucky **

**Chapter 13! Hmmmm, maybe **_**that's**_** why it was so hard to write, being #13.…. WARNING! This chapter is rated M/MA for adult/sexual situations and language unbecoming a lady. You have had fair warning! 18 yrs of age and unders must be accompanied by an adult. You must be this high - to read this chapter.**

**A/N2: In no way, shape, or form do I own anything remotely resembling NCIS. If I did, something much like my story would have happened a LONG time ago!**

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter Lucky 13**

(_still in Tony's flashback)_

…..So he shut her up the only way he could think of…..

Putting his hand on the back of her head, Tony roughly pulled Abby into a kiss. Oh, it originally started out his mouth just blocking hers from talking so she'd listen to him. But somewhere along the line, either his lips or his brain forgot what the plan was. Or maybe both did. But at the moment, none of that mattered. He was kissing Abby. And, Tony noticed, after the initial shock, she seemed to be returning the kiss. With slight hesitation, her hands made their way to his head, her fingers curling in his hair.

His tongue flicked at the seam of Abby's lips and her mouth opened with a small whimper. Tony groaned as her tongue began an intimate duel with his. He slid his hands slowly from her head and neck down over her shoulders, then to her back. He wanted to give her time to stop him. This was **ABBY.** She deserved special treatment. When she didn't stop the hands at her back Tony slowly worked them down to her waist, and with a gentle squeeze he pulled her body flush against his. And all the while their lips and tongues played.

It was Abby's gasp as she came up against his hardness that finally broke the kiss. They were both breathing hard, staring into each other's eyes, shocked. But Tony felt horrible as he saw tears building in Abby's eyes. "Abby…."

"Tony…." they spoke at the same time. "I'm so sorry Tony, I didn't mean to break up your date…the silver, the flowers…. You shouldn't have answered the phone, it was just me."

Tony stopped her with a finger over her lips, his eyes softening. "Ssshhhhhhhhh," he soothed as a tear tracked down her cheek. He gently wiped it away with his thumb, then put his hands on her shoulders. His thumbs caressed her neck as he stepped even closer. "It's never '_**just'**_ you, Abby," he all but whispered. Searching her eyes, he slowly dipped his head and brushed her mouth with a gentle kiss. When she didn't object, he kissed her again, softly. "It's _**'you'**_, Abby." Her lips trembled. "Abbs?"

With her hands on either side of his face, she looked him in the eye. There were still a few tears clinging to her lashes, but her eyes now held something different. Hope. Desire. She stood on tiptoe bringing her face to his. Just before her lips touched his, he heard a soft, "Yes, Tony."

*_**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

Tony couldn't remember later how they got to the couch. It was all a blur of lips and tongues and hands, of kissing, licking, and touching. He remembers laying Abby gently on the couch, gazing into her eyes. He wouldn't hurt her for the world, and if she even **THOUGHT** the word 'NO', he'd stop. But all he saw was hot desire as she reached up and pulled his head down to hers for another deliciously wet kiss.

Lying on his side, he slid a knee between hers, the other on the floor. He tangled his hands in her hair, pulling out the skull hair-thingy, which he carelessly tossed toward the other end of the couch without ever taking his mouth from hers.

As Abby ran her hands up his back and into his hair, Tony slid his mouth across her cheek and up to her ear. He ran his tongue around the outer edge, then grazed the lobe with his teeth. He smiled to himself as she shivered, then he eased the nip with a soft flick of his tongue.

It was _his_ turn to groan when Abby entwined her leg around his, rubbing it against his with catlike grace. He startled when one of her small, talented hands latched onto his jeans-covered ass, making Abby chuckle. "Still packin' some serious booty there, Tony."

"Kept it just for you, Abbs," he said as his hand ran down the side of her body, learning her shape. His fingers danced on the back of her knee, making Abby mewl in pleasure, then sensuously swirled back up her thigh. He caressed and circled his way up to her breast, cupping it through her gown. "Mmmm," he growled. "Never though flannel could be so damn sexy." He licked and nipped his way down her neck, paying special attention to that spider web tattoo that had mesmerized him for years. He nudged the collar of the gown aside with his chin, his lips seeking and finding that sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder.

Abby jumped with a whimper when Tony's thumb swept across her already erect flannel-covered nipple. He looked up at her. "OK?" he asked quietly. Abby's eyes were closed, bottom lip between her teeth.

"Mm-hmmmm," she moaned, "just feels…." she gasped as Tony played with the nipple, the flannel causing extra friction, making it that much more sensitive. "Feels good," she whimpered.

With a sense of satisfaction, Tony's fingers plucked and played with the flannel covered breasts as his lips and tongue glided across her collarbone. Abby groaned when she felt the gentle scrape of teeth. She cried out when it was followed with soft, wet suction.

"Tony!"

Kissing his way up the other side of his neck, he answered, "right here Abbs." As he kissed and sucked at her mouth again, his fingers made short work of the buttons on Abby's granny gown. He brushed the sides apart and gently cradled her breast. "You feel so good, Abby," he whispered. He was a little shocked when Abby's hand came over his and squeezed his hand harder against her breast.

She gave him her patented smirk. "I won't break, Tony." Her back arched as Tony took over the playing at her breast. "Aaaaahhhhhhh!" she gasped. "Yes! Please touch me, Tony!"

Pulling his gaze away from their hands meshed together on her breast, He watched her, needing to be sure this was what she wanted. He got his answer when her eyes opened and looked at him. They were glazed with passion. "Please, Tony," she groaned, running her hand up and down his chest. He sat up and threw off his shirt, taking Abby's hand in his and rubbing it up and down his lightly-furred torso.

With a groan he lay back down next to her, kissing her wildly, enjoying the feel of her small hands on his body. Nibbling and licking his way down her neck, he slid the shoulders of her gown off Abby's shoulders. He traced his fingers softly along the delicate bones of her shoulder, across her collarbone, and down to her breasts. He gently swirled his fingers all around them, barely touching. "So beautiful," he whispered, then bent his head and licked circles around her breast. When he took the nipple into his mouth and lightly suckled, Abby dug her fingernails into his back with a sharp gasp, and they groaned simultaneously.

Tony couldn't believe he was doing this with _**ABBY.**_ When had he started thinking of her this way? The scrape of nails up his back gave him a jolt. "Stop over-thinking, Tony," she rasped in his ear. "Pretend I'm someone else if you need to…"

His mouth released her nipple with a wet pop and he slid his hand down under her ass, pulling her lower body closer to his. "Does this feel like I need to pretend you're someone else?" he asked huskily, gazing into her eyes. " I want you… _**NEED **_you…to be just who you are." He punctuated each word with a kiss or nip to her breast. "Sweet," nip, "smart," kiss, "funny," lick, "wonderful," suck, "adorable Abby." Were those tears in her eyes?

She breathed his name on a shaky sigh and brought his mouth back to her breasts, cradling him there with her hands on either side of his head.

Mouth busy at her breasts, Tony caressed his hands down to her hips and thighs, still hidden in flannel. His palm slid to the back of her thigh and pulled her leg up over his hip, fitting their lower bodies that much closer together. He then swept that palm up her thigh to her ass. Her naked ass. She wasn't wearing any panties, he thought with a moan, his fingers instinctively tightening on the firm but soft butt cheek. He chuckled at her whimper. "Looks like I'm not the only one packin' some serious booty," he teased with a pinch.

"About time you noticed!" Abby teased back.

Smoothing his hands over both silky cheeks, he gave her a lust-filled leer. "Oh believe me, Abby," he said roughly, giving that booty a slight squeeze, "I noticed."

She squirmed with a moan, rubbing the softest part of herself against the hardest part of him, making him gasp for a change. As his jeans lightly scraped on the inside of her thighs and outer lips, Abby's breathed hitched on a sob. Damn, he hadn't done more than play with her breasts and she was nearing the edge of orgasm. Never had a woman responded for him the way Abby had. He was intent now on making this about her. _**For **_her.

With this plan in mind, Tony began sweeping his tongue down Abby's torso, taking time here and there to kiss and nip. Looking up at her face through the valley between her breasts, he saw her eyes were closed, mouth open in a continuous silent scream. Oh hell yeah, he couldn't wait to take her over the top, to watch that gorgeous face as she came all over his tongue, his lips, his fingers, his cock. He slid a hand behind her back to pull her closer to his searching tongue while the other softly whisked her nightgown down and away.

Nuzzling at her belly button, Tony drifted his hand up and down her leg, caressing, brushing circles around her ankle, tickling behind her knee. If her shaky cries were anything to go by, he'd have to remember these particular spots for later use. As his tongue lazily glided down toward her wet slit, his hand began the return trip up her leg, and soon joined his mouth at her moist hole. He took a moment to just look at her, pale, pink, and beautiful. His forefinger traced her outer lips softly, causing Abby's hips to jump, and he leered with a chuckle. "Just my finger, Abbs. Wonder what you'll do for something else?" He didn't give her a chance to answer as his whole hand began stroking up and down her neatly trimmed pussy, his middle finger dipping inside with every up stroke.

Abby's little squeaks and moans were driving him crazy. Not to mention the sweet essence of her that replaced the air in the room and saturated his fingers. And he groaned when he felt her inner muscles start to tighten around his finger. He couldn't take much more of this-he had to taste her. He took his hand away and brought it to his mouth. Abby whimpered and leaned up on her elbows to see why he'd stopped. When she saw him licking and sucking on the fingers that had just been inside her, she could only cry out and drop her head back against the cushion. "Mmmmm, so good, Abby," he said, lying his upper body between her thighs. "But I want more, Baby Girl, think you can give me more?" he growled as he pulled her legs over his shoulders. He barely saw her nod furiously as her fingers twisted in his hair. "I can't hear you, Abbs," he murmured, bringing his mouth just a little closer to the prize. "Can you give me more?" he asked, finally plunging his tongue where his fingers had been just moments before. And smiled with satisfaction when Abby screamed her answer.

"_**YES!"**_

His name had become her mantra, sometimes whimpered, sometimes screamed or moaned. Everything about her was a turn-on for him. Tony could sense that she was close to coming, so he ramped his efforts up a notch, and added a finger to his licking, sucking, and nibbling. He was rewarded with Abby's legs tensing around his ears and she was gasping for air in between screams. She liked one finger so much, he added another, two fingers now plunging inside her. She particularly liked it when he curled and uncurled his fingers slightly. He could feel her body trembling and looked up into her eyes, knowing that the tears now were good tears. "Let go, Abby," he whispered, mouth barely leaving her pussy. "C'mon, Abbs, give it to me." He continued encouraging her, and in a flurry of cries and moans, her fingers tightened in his hair and her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers as she came at last. "That's it, Baby Girl," he groaned, "mmmmm Abbs, yeah, c'mon, so good Abby, so good Baby Girl…"

He gentled his licks and nibbles as her orgasm began to taper off, bringing her down easy. With a final flick of his tongue on her clit, he began kissing his way back up her body, licking up beads of sweat from her belly, the hollow of her throat, her temple, her forehead. Having waited long enough, Abby grabbed him by the ears and dragged his mouth back down to hers. Her breathing was so ragged, Tony felt sure he would be able to steal it from her. He brought his fingers on a fast trip over her torso and up into her jet-black hair. God, he loved the feel of it gliding between his fingers, he thought, wrapping his hands up in her hair, their kisses demanding of each other.

It was his turn to jump as Abby started running her fingers down his chest and stomach. A sweep down, a soft drag of her fingernails on the way back up. He could feel the goose bumps and he groaned as he shivered. When he'd taken all he could stand, he took her hand and led it where he wanted-needed-it. Abby hummed with pleasure as Tony wrapped her fingers around his hard, jeans-covered cock. His head dropped back, eyes rolling back in his head in ecstasy.

"Looks like it's not only serious booty your packin' there, Tony-Boy," Abby purred, a wicked smile on her face. Bringing her other hand down, she worked on the top button of his jeans. With that big bulge, it was a little difficult, but she finally wrangled it out. When she began to work on the zipper, he quickly stopped her and took over the task.

"Gotta' go easy there, Abbs," he teased. "Don't want anything getting caught in there, ya' know." Abby feigned a look of pain.

"Right, wouldn't want anything to happen to that gorgeous hunk o' man-meat," she taunted, "at least not until I've had a sample of it." She gulped when Tony drew her hand into the opened v of his jeans. "OK, I take back the zipper joke," she breathed out in a high voice.

Tony smirked devilishly. "And you're going to do more than 'sample' it, Baby Girl," he growled low. He got a perverse sense of exhilaration when Abby's eyes went wide and she shivered. She never let go of him while he rolled his jeans down and kicked them off. She was mesmerized, her eyes wide on his cock while her hand and fingers ran up and down the length of him. He moaned. "So good, Abbs, so good." He was shaking so much, he had to lean over her to brace himself with a hand on the arm of the couch. His other hand went to stop Abby's playing. "Not so fast, Abbs, we've got all the time in the world for this. Slow it down a little, ok?" A groan rumbled in his chest when Abby leaned up and started kissing and tasting his neck and chest. "Mmmmm, Baby Girl," he growled.

Abby grinned, an evil glint in her eye. "Payback sucks, doesn't it?"

He stared down into her eyes. "It's not payback that I want to suck, Abby….." He saw the lust flare in her eyes and started moving off the couch. When she made to move also, he stopped her. "Stay right where you are, you're perfect," he mumbled huskily. "Just roll over on your side." She did as he instructed as he knelt on the floor by her head. Abby reached over and stroked him again, and he cupped his hand behind her head. She took the hint and leaned forward, taking his hard length slowly into her mouth, moaning at finally tasting and feeling him. The vibrations of her moan around his cock sent shivers up Tony's spine, and he fisted his hand in her hair. He nearly passed out when he looked down at her mouth taking him in, and he knew he wouldn't last long if she kept up whatever voodoo she was doing with her tongue. "Abby, Baby Girl, you need to stop," he groaned as she moaned her displeasure at the prospect. "Please, Baby Girl," he begged. "I need to be inside you."

With a loud pop, she released him, pouting. "Ok," she relented. "But only if you promise I can play later."

Tony smiled and kissed her wildly. "I promise, Abbs, round 2 you can take all the time you want." She grinned at the prospect of a round 2. "But if I don't get inside you right now, there won't BE a round 2." He stood, taking a minute to gaze at the vision Abby made, lying on his couch beautifully naked and glowing. "Sei piu bello di un Botticelli, la mia Bambina (You're more beautiful than a Botticelli, my Baby Girl)," he said roughly.

Abby had no idea what he'd said other than Botticelli and Bambina, but she knew that it made her melt. "I don't know what you said but I love it when you make love to me in Italian," she whimpered.

He grinned as he came up on the couch, situating himself between her thighs once again, bracing his hands on either side of her head so as not to crush her. "I'll be sure to remember that," he murmured. "Abby, voglio amare te in questo momento piu di quanto io voglio respirare (I want to love you right now more than I want to breathe)," he growled, lowering himself slowly until his hardness met her belly.

Abby sobbed. "PLEASE, Tony! Oh god, please!"

Tony ran a finger through her wetness, causing her to cry out. "Cosi bella, Abbs (so beautiful, Abbs)," hewhispered as he slid himself inside her tight tunnel, both of them groaning at the exquisite feeling. "Meglio di ogni sogno che abbia mai avuto (better than any dream I've ever had)," he rasped, trying to catch his breath. Abby whimpered, draping her legs around his hips, head tossed back in ecstasy. He wrapped her in his arms and whispered in her ear. Hot words, beautiful words, words of love. She was coming apart, and he loved every minute of it. When he felt her inner muscles squeeze him, he knew she was close and thrust harder and faster, trying to hold off his own orgasm so they could come together. "That's it, Baby Girl, c'mon, just a little more, c'mon," he encouraged.

With a husky scream, Abby came, tighten her muscles to keep Tony exactly where he was. "Yeah, yes, Abby, yeah, mia Bambina," he grunted, unable to hold back anymore, and in 3 more thrusts, he followed her into orgasm. Bracing his arms, he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. "So beautiful, Abbs."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "Mmmmm, Tony," Abby gasped, trying to slow her breathing. She shivered as he nuzzled her spider web tattoo and up to her ear, his breath tickling. "Tony," she sighed, squirming to get closer.

_**(End Flashback)**_

Playing with the skull hair-thingy, Tony remembered that they'd made love again before falling asleep in each other's arms there on the couch. Dammit, when had things gotten so damned fucked up? Why was he being such a prick? He loved her, that's why. And the only one he'd had the guts to admit it to wasn't even Abby, it was Palmer. Yeah, smooth move there, DiNozzo. But apparently she didn't feel the same if she'd dated Trust Fund Thad right after.

But that still didn't excuse his behavior the past few days. The woman he loved - hell, his best friend - had been brutally attacked, and he was treating her like shit. No matter what had happened between them, he should have been there for her, to take care of her. What kind of man WAS he, leaving her like that?

He twisted the hair-thingy around his hand as he lay back on the couch with a groan. He could only hope she'd forgive him for being such an ass. Without thinking about it, he rubbed the thingy on his cheek. "Mia Bambina," he whispered. Of course she'd forgive him - this was **ABBY, **she'd forgive the devil if he groveled enough. So yeah, of course she'd forgive him.

Wouldn't she?

**A/N: Sorry if this was too graphic for you, but you were warned at the beginning, so caveat emptor… or something to that effect. And please pardon my Italian, it's fresh from Google Translate, and I obviously don't have the accents where they're supposed to be cuz I don't know how to do that on my computer. And again, I apologize if this was too much for you, that wasn't my intent. But I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Anyone else need a cigarette now? LOL**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks to the newcomers who's alerted and reviewed! Each and every one makes my day, believe me! Wish there were more reviews though…. Hint, hint….. But seriously, y'all are awesome. Thank you!**

**A/N 2: As usual, I still own nothing to do with NCIS, CBS, or their affiliates. And as usual, I'm still very upset about that. And I'm VERY upset that there was not ONE Tabby moment in the entire recent ep., where Gibbs sees 'what would have been'. Shame on you, producers and writers! I mean, really… McABBY? I shudder to think…. **

**A/N 3: A MAJOR thank you to Moonlight Gypsy, without whom the last chapter and this one would not have seen the light of day. She let me bounce ideas off her, helped me clean stuff up, and to work things out. She has been indispensable (how's that for a big word, MG? heh heh!) throughout the story, and I couldn't have gotten this far without her. So thank you, my friend! And please, try a story or 2 of hers - they're great! (A little too much Tony whumpage for me, but hey, at least they're Tony-centric! LOL! -ya' know I love ya' MG!)**

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**CHAPTER 14**

Abby had been home from the hospital now for almost two weeks, and has seen her therapist faithfully three times a week. She knew she had issues, and wasn't going to try and handle them on her own. Sure, she wished she didn't have to go, but she had to talk to SOMEBODY, and the person she normally would've talked to - Tony - wasn't available to her.

Her therapist had remarked more than once that it was odd how most of their sessions ended up being about Abby's perceived loss of Tony, rather than the rape. Yes, she still had nightmares about it occasionally, but it was missing Tony that kept her from sleeping in the first place. She was handling the aftereffects of the rape better than "losing" Tony, and for some reason, that had her therapist stymied. Abby tried to explain about the team, their family-like dynamic, but the doctor just didn't understand how co-workers could be that close and still be effective. So Abby tried to stay on topic - the rape - but somehow it always ended up back on Tony (wouldn't that make him preen if he knew).

After two weeks of drifting around her apartment listlessly, interest in TV and movies worn out, Abby decided it was time for her to get back to the thing she loved most - her work. So she got up that sunny Tuesday morning, dressed in her favorite outfit, put on her favorite dog collar and bracelets and her most favorite, confidence-building boots, and headed out to the Navy yard, ready to take at least PART of her life back.

*NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS*

It was a quiet Tuesday for Team DiNozzo , as they finished up their reports on the case they'd just closed. It hadn't escaped Tony's notice that his team talked to him as little as possible, and he knew it had to do with Abby. They'd stop talking to each other when he walked by, and apparently Ziva has been giving McProbie lessons on how to glare like a Mossad assassin, as he'd taken to burning through Tony with his eyes. At least he had ONE agent that didn't want him dead. Agent Lee didn't talk to him, either, but that was because she was still afraid of him. He hoped.

Tony'd heard from his confidential informant (ok, it was Palmer) that Abby had been home from the hospital for a while now, and was apparently handling things as well as could be expected. He was glad she was seeing the therapist, knew it would help her. But it was killing him, knowing that any other time, HE would be the one she trusted, the one she'd cry to, the one she'd lean on for support. He missed it. Missed her. But he didn't know where to go from here, didn't know how to apologize and get past this. He wanted HIS Abby back, in any way she'd have him. Co-worker, friend, big brother,….. Lover.

McGee saw movement on the stairs out of the corner of his eye and looked up. A big grin split across his face. "ABBY!" He jumped up out of his chair and ran to the bottom of the stairs, followed closely by Ziva and Agent Lee, to meet Abby and the Director at the foot of the stairs. Within in moments, the rest of the bullpen had surrounded them, everyone welcoming Abby back and asking questions.

Except SA DiNozzo, who watched from his desk. She looked better than she had the last time he'd seen her (yeah, THREE weeks ago, dumb-ass!), but there were still traces of yellowing bruises and healing cuts on her face, and she held herself carefully, as if her ribs still bothered her. Those should have been healing quicker - he hoped she wasn't doing too much. She smiled and hugged everyone, but it wasn't with the usual Sciuto flare. Her eyes still looked haunted. (Yeah, tough guy, how much of that is YOUR fault?) He slapped himself on the back of the head and turned back to his work, keeping an ear on the group.

"So does this mean you're coming back to work?" McGee asked hopefully.

Abby gave a small smile. "Well that's why I was up with the Director. I wanted to come back full time, because I'm going stir crazy at home - ya' know, everyone thinks it would be so great to be off of work, and in the beginning, it was, but after hours and hours of daytime TV, it starts to get really, really boring. I would have gone completely mad if you guys hadn't come by every day to see me." The large group chuckled - typical run-on Abby!

Ziva leaned in and gave Abby a gentle hug. "Oh, we have missed you, Abby!"

"Thanks, you guys," Abby blushed. "Anyway, Director Shepherd and I talked, and I'm going to be coming back part time to begin with, maybe three days a week."

The Director interrupted, "It will all depend on how she's feeling. If she gets too tired, she's going home. NO EXCUSES," she added, with a glare at Abby.

Abby looked down at her shoes, contrite. "Yes, ma'am." The crowd groaned. "What? My replacement can't be THAT bad! I hand-picked him myself!"

"Yeah, but he's not you, Abby," said Agent Balboa from the back of the group, and the rest of the crowd agreed.

Abby blushed again. "Awww, thanks, you guys! I've missed you all, too."

"When do you start?" Tim asked eagerly from her left.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early!" she began with a smile, but with a glare from the Director, she added, "or whatever time I feel up to coming in." The Director smiled at her.

Tony couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't stand Abby being so close but untouchable. All he wanted to do was grab her up in a big hug and never let her go, to reassure her nothing or no one would ever hurt her again. Like he should have done right from the beginning. "Does anyone around here besides me WORK around here?" he yelled. "David, McProcrastinator, Probationary Probette Lee, coffee klatch is over. I need those reports on my desk by the end of the day!" Damn it, he'd reverted to his "who cares?" persona, NOT what he wanted to do in front of Abby. (Yeah, smooth move there, Casanova. Way to win her heart back!) He slapped himself on the back of the head again.

The crowd at the stairs slowly dispersed, everyone hugging Abby as they left. Lee scurried back to her desk right away, but Tim and Ziva stayed a minute longer. "Do not let him get to you, Abby," Ziva said quietly. "He has been gristle all the while you were gone."

The other three looked confused for a moment. A light went on over McGee's head. "I think you mean 'grizzly', Ziva. Grizzly means snarly and surly, gristle is like hard chunks of fatty meat."

Ziva thought for a second. "Then no, I think I do mean gristle. Describes Tony's head perfectly, a big, greasy ball of…"

Tony interrupted again from his desk, "Let's go, senior agents! Your probette is outworking you! Agent Lee, you just earned yourself a gold star. Keep up the good work, probette," he said, as happily as he could manage.

Agent Lee was flustered. "Um, Thank…. Thank you, sir?" she stuttered, not sure how to respond.

With a final hug and promises to visit that night, the agents returned to their desks, not without some grumbling under their breath which Tony knew was about him. He sat back at his desk and watched from the corner of his eye as Abby and Jenny made their way to the elevator, talking in hushed tones. He silently hoped she was going to stop off and see Ducky, so the ME could look her over, make sure she was OK. He wasn't liking that her ribs were still bothering her. As he heard the elevator ding, he went back to his work.

The determined thump, thump, thump of boots heading toward his desk made him look up. There was Abby, in front of his desk, wearing her stubborn look. (OK, dip-twit, here's your opportunity to start making things right. Don't blow it!) He looked up at her mottled-colored face and tried to keep from throwing his arms around her. "Something you need, Ms. Sciuto?" He winced to himself (well THAT was a step in the right direction. NOT.)

Abby tried to keep from crying at his words. But she remembered her new mantra, "screw Tony!", and kept a stiff upper lip. With a sneer, she stared at him for a moment. "No. No, there's nothing here I … need," she said, then turned and stomped back to the elevator.

Tony watched as Jenny put her arm around Abby's shoulder. He couldn't blame Abby for being upset with him. He deserved everything he got and more. He'd gladly do it to himself, if it would mean she'd forgive him. But that hadn't been the way to start, and he knew it. He avoided looking at his teammates, knowing they'd just be glaring at him again. With a sigh, he got up and walked to the file cabinet to look up an old report. He had his back turned, so he didn't see when Abby returned to stand behind him. How he missed the clunking of her boots he'd never know.

As she waited with Jenny for the elevator for the second time, Abby tried not to cry. "Oh, Abby. If it makes you feel any better, he's just as miserable as you are."

"Yeah, he sure looks it," Abby said petulantly.

Jenny ran a hand over the back of the young scientist's head, like a mother would do. "Honey, he really does care. He just doesn't know how to show it."

Abby could feel her blood start to boil. "What's to show? Someone you love is in the hospital, you go visit that person. Someone you love is having a nightmare, you help them through it. He never came to see me in the hospital, he hasn't called or visited, or even e-mailed. He wasn't there when I needed him the most, Direc…. Jenny."

The ding announced that the elevator had arrived, but Abby decided that if Tony couldn't be the bigger person, SHE would be. She'd give him one last chance to show her he still loved her. She clomped over to where he stood at the file cabinet with grim determination.

Tony turned and found himself toe-to-toe with "Serious Abby." His brain shut down, leaving him on his own. He could feel everyone's eyes on them. "Change your mind, Ms. Sciuto?" he asked lightly.

Abby huffed. "Yeah. About YOU." She sneered at the confused look on Tony face. "I thought you were different. I THOUGHT I meant something to you." All the anger she'd stored up in the past couple of weeks was coming out now. "But you're just as shallow as everyone says you are."

He was dumbfounded. She was pissed at him? Hurt, he could understand and apologize for, but pissed? She wanted to do pissed, fine, he could do pissed. "I'm shallow?" He snorted. "I'm not the one who hopped out of MY bed after getting what she wanted, then jumped right into bed with someone else."

The entire bullpen gasped. Ziva was squinting at him, and he knew she was contemplating just which method of killing him she'd use. Tim had that scared, "I can't believe this is happening," puppy-dog look on his face. And the rest of the agents' mouths were all dropped open. Damn! He hadn't meant to say any of that outloud, ever. He saw a flash of pain in Abby's eyes, and wanted to take it all back.

Abby ignored everyone around them. Tony had pretty much just called her a whore. Her Sciuto pride kicked into gear. "I never!" she yelled. "I WOULDN'T!" She saw him glancing at her slightly bruised face, and up and down her body, and knew instantly what he'd meant. "If you're talking about Thad, he was over LONG before I ever slept with you!" Oh, she was just getting started now! "It's not MY fault he wouldn't leave me alone. And I COULDN'T 'jump' out of your 'BED' because you didn't even have the COURTESY of bringing me TO your bed! You just went for it right there on the couch!"

Tim interrupted, "Wait… you slept with Tony?" he asked, confused by this whole conversation.

Five voices answered him as one. "SHUT UP, MCGEE!"

"Oh, it's not your fault," Tony mimicked. "It' s not your fault? It's NEVER your fault when the weirdoes you string along won't let go?" He laughed. "Poor, little Princess Abby," He said snidely. "What do you do, date one guy to help you get rid of the one before?"

Abby gasped in fury. "Look who's talking, Mr. Different Girl Every Night!"

Tony leaned in closer to her face. "Well, at least none of THEM have wanted to KILL ME." He glared at her. "The name Mikel Mauer ring a bell?" He ignored her gasp and continued, "Ya' know, if you didn't sleep around with LOSERS, you wouldn't end up with so many losers stalking you!"

Abby's eyes narrowed in anger. Gloves off time. "Well then, congratulations! I guess that makes YOU one of the LOSERS! YOU said it, baby, not ME!"

Tony was in shock - Abby'd just called him a loser? "Oh-ho, * I'M * a loser? * I'M * the loser here?"

"Yes, you are! Capital L, LOSER!"

Tony dropped into the red zone without realizing it, without remembering where he was and who he was talking to. He just followed that overwhelming urge to hurt back. "How am * I * the loser here, when * I * was the one giving YOU the Pity Fuck?" he yelled.

! SLAP !

Without thought, Abby slapped him across the face, tears starting to run down her cheeks. "How can you say that to me?" she whispers through the tears. "After all we've …..after all these years….." She shook her head sadly. "I thought you cared about…. I thought you were different… special ….." She ran for the elevator with tears blurring her vision, and jumps into it when it arrived right away.

The bullpen was deathly silent, every agent in total disbelief at what they'd just witnessed. Had Tony REALLY just called Abby a ….. she's always been a little sister to him, why would he say all that, call her that? Jenny was the first to recover. "Alright! Show's over! She yelled. "Everyone back to work!" No one moved, still in shock. "NOW!" Agents ran for their desks in double time.

Sitting back at his desk, he worked his jaw back and forth, testing it. He can't say he didn't deserve that. (Ya' THINK, Big Mouth?) Ziva rose and made her way to his desk with controlled anger, dropping her report loudly in front of him.

"You are lucky," she said through gritted teeth. "Had you said that to ME, I would have gutted you like a fish where you stood." She walked off, presumably to go to Abby.

Tim came over and dropped his report on top of Ziva's. "Nice. Real nice, Tony." He moved to walk away but turned back around. "You know, there are a lot of guys that would give anything just to STAND next to Abby. And you've had her by your side all along…. Why would you hurt her like that?" He walked off after Ziva, to console Abby.

Tony banged his head on the desk lightly. He fucked up and he knew it. He felt horribly guilty. He felt just plain horrible. He didn't mean anything he'd said. WHY did he say those things? That was NOT how he felt about Abby. Feeling someone standing by his desk, he looked up into the disappointed face of Jenny. "I know. I fucked up."

"Yes, you did," she said softly.

Tony rubbed the cheek where Abby had slapped him, absently. He sighed. "I'm not going to be able to charm my way out of this one, am I?" he asked, ruefully.

"Nope."

He continued to bang his head on the desk. "WHY? Why did I say that?" he sat up and looked at Jenny. "You know, if someone else had talked like that to Abby, I would've beaten the hell out of them. And if they made her cry, I'd kill them. And I just did both."

Jenny smiled a small smile. "Ah yes, Gibbs' most important rule. 'Make Abby cry…"

" 'I'll make you die,' " Tony finished. He thought for a minute silently. "I love her, Jen." (Holy Crap! Did you just admit that?)

Shaking her head as she began to walk away, Jenny said, "You've got a helluva way of showing it."

*NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS*

_**A few days later…**_

His area of the bullpen was ridiculously quiet. Since the big blowout with Abby, both Tim and Ziva avoided talking to him as much as possible. Just as he began to wonder what was taking him so long, Tim returned from the lab.

"What did Abby say about the fingerprints?" Ziva asked.

Tim looked astonished and confused at the same time. "She didn't." At the questioning look from Ziva, he continued, "She wasn't there. Hasn't been all day. There was a sub… says he's just temporary until they can find a permanent replacement." Both he and Ziva turned to glower at Tony, who just put his head in his hands, feeling like shit.

The Director came down the stairs from her office. "Director," Tim called. "Do you know what's going on with Abby? Why isn't she here?"

Jenny held up a letter. "I got this just this morning. It's Abby's resignation from NCIS." Ziva and Lee gasped, while Tim just asked, "what?" Tony banged his head on the desk again.

"She's taking a lab position with the police department's crime scene unit in Las Vegas." Jenny sighed. "Apparently they've been trying to entice her to take the position for a few years now, but she's always turned them down." She glanced around the bullpen, stopping on Tony's miserable face. "But she says that now it's time to move on. She starts in Vegas the day after tomorrow."

Everyone in their area just glared at Tony. They all knew exactly why Abby was 'moving on'. Tony just hung his head. "Fuckin' perfect," he whispered to himself.

_**LATER THAT SAME DAY…**_

Still mad at Tony, everyone in the bullpen was working harder than usual. There was no sound, save for the whirr of the computer fans and the occasional beeping of a fax machine. Jenny had come down to discuss something with Ziva, and they were chatting quietly at the latter's desk. The elevator dinged, but no one paid it any attention.

A scruffy-looking guy stalked into their space and dumped his just as scruffy backpack on the floor near Ziva's desk. Everyone looked up and was shocked to see….. Gibbs - who looked extremely pissed.

"Why is Abby not in her lab?" he growled. "And who's fault is it?" he questioned, glaring at Jenny. He got even madder when no one would answer him. "SOMEBODY better tell me WHY I'm not on the beach in Mexico, building a hot tub!"

All eyes turned to DiNozzo, who just shook his head sadly to himself. "Fuckin' terrific," he whispered. He'd never thought he'd die at such a young age.

**TBC**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you like it - I know it's a little OOC, but neither Tony nor Abby are themselves right now. I've done my part and wrote the chapter, now YOU do YOURS - Review, please!**


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N - First of all, a MAJORLY HUGE Thank You to all the new reviewers and alerters and favoriters that joined our little group last chapter. And bigger kudos to those that have stayed with me for my first ride on the FanFiction Train. Your encouragement and kind words are almost better than chocolate to me. Almost. If there were to be MORE reviews at the end of THIS chapter…. Maybe y'all will just muscle past chocolate….. I know most of y'all are expecting Gibbs to fix things now that he's there….. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint… HUGE thank yous to MOONLIGHT GYPSY, who's been so kind as to be my sounding board and chief butt-kicker when I need it - which is A LOT. The story wouldn't have gotten this far without her, so I'm deeply indebted to ya', MG. (and read her stories - even though she beats up on my poor Tony in every one, they're really good!)**_

_**A/N 2- I still own nothing remotely related to NCIS. I could just cry.**_

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

Where we left our Team last chapter…..

Gibbs has just appeared in the bullpen to everyone's surprise.

"_Somebody'd better tell me why I'm not on the beach in Mexico building a hot tub."_

_All eyes turned to Tony…_

_**CHAPTER 15**_

Gibbs stepped over his duffle bag and stalked to Tony's desk, anger rolling off him in waves. Disregarding the desk, Gibbs stepped right up into Tony's space, not saying a word, the famous Gibbs Glare doing the talking for him.

Surprising himself, Tony took on The Glare with nary a flinch giving away his fear.

Ex-supervisory agent and supervisory agent stood toe-to-toe, stare-to-stare, for what seemed like forever, neither man so much as blinking until Agent Lee returning from an errand broke the spell.

"Sorry sir, but that warrant isn't….. um, isn't… ready….yet. Sir." Lee looked around the bullpen nervously, acutely aware of the heavy tension.

Tony startled out of the spell first. "Right. Well, this is a long story, too long for an office visit, so let's use the conference room." As he headed out of the bullpen he issued work orders to his team. All of whom turned away, except for Agent Lee, who responded with her usual 'yes, sir.'

Going around Gibbs, who'd stopped to grab his gear, Jenny walked with Tony. "Do you want me to go with you?" she asked quietly.

Tony stopped and gave her a sad smile. "It's ok, Jenny. I deserve everything I'm going to get, and more." Looking over his shoulder, seeing Gibbs catching up, he began walking again. "Just make sure McGee gets my movie collection. Ziva will just use them for target practice."

Watching her agent walk away dejectedly, Jenny turned and stepped into Gibbs' path. "The Glare doesn't work on me, Jethro," she teased lightly. "Go easy on him, Jethro. He's already hurting." She saw Gibbs roll his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me. Just LISTEN to him before you decide to take him apart." She handed him Abby's resignation letter as she deferred to The Glare and stepped aside. She couldn't help but worry as she watched him follow Tony. However this ended, it would not end happily.

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

_In the conference room…._

Tension was high as Tony paced the length of the room, trying to figure out how to begin. And wondering how painful dying would be. From the glare on his former boss' face, Tony was fairly certain it would be long, drawn-out, and excruciating.

And he deserved it all.

Watching as Gibbs shut the door behind him and dropped his gear, Tony was so nervous he just had to talk. "So who called you? Jenny?"

No answer as Gibbs opened the letter Jenny had handed him.

"Had to be McGee, then….." Tony guessed.

No answer as Gibbs began reading the letter.

"Ziva? Always knew she was out for my blood," he joked lightly.

"My Gut," came the gravelly reply, as Gibbs went back and re-read the letter, not quite believing what he was seeing. This had to be a joke. Abby leaving? No.

Tony stopped mid-pace. "Oh, so The Gut still works even in retirement? Good…." he withered under Gibbs' glare. "Good to, um, know."

Gibbs crossed his arms across his chest. "The question is, why didn't YOU call me."

Tony reached up and loosened his tie uncomfortably when he noticed that Gibbs was now standing in front of the door. The only exit. "Uh, yeah, uh, um, that's a, um, that's a good… a good question," he said, nervously fiddling with his coat sleeves. "A, um, a really good question."

Gibbs just raised an eyebrow. "And is there a really good answer?" Gibbs uncrossed his arms and began stalking over to Tony, waving the letter. "Better yet, is there a really good explanation for THIS?"

His face paled as Gibbs got closer. Tony recognized that tone of voice. But he usually enjoyed it, watching Gibbs use it on suspects in interrogation…. It was the voice that caused even the most hardened criminal to give in and cry like a little girl. He was dead. "Is that the, uh," he cleared his throat, "is that the…."

Gibbs was nose to nose with Tony now. "Abby's resignation letter?" he bit out through gritted teeth. "Yeah. What the HELL, DiNozzo?" He tossed the letter down. He grabbed Tony by the lapels of his very expensive suit coat - he hoped he wrinkled it - and drove Tony against the wall with a thud. "There had better be a VERY good reason Abby wrote that letter, and if you value your life, it had better have nothing to do with YOU."

Tony gulped. Wow, they were right - your life really does flash in front of your eyes right before you die….. Except the version he was seeing was the one he WISHED he had had…. There was Abby, in a black, lacy wedding dress…. Abby round with his child….. Abby choking him with his tie during labor…. It was the final image that brought tears to his eyes. Abby offering up his child for him to hold, a teary, happy smile on her lips. "Would you like to hold your…." The image ended suddenly as his head hit the wall. Gibbs had been shaking him, trying to get an answer. "Wow, haven't had one of those in a while," he said shakily. "The bump back there was just starting to go down, too," he said, reaching for the back of his head.

"A bump on the back of your head will be just the beginning if you don't start talking," Gibbs threatened, still holding Tony against the wall. "What. Happened. To. Abby." He shook Tony with each word.

Tony gulped for air, but didn't fight Gibbs' hold on him. So far it wasn't bad…just a wrinkled suit coat. "Ok, first, in my defense, let me just say that I know I handled this whole thing all wrong, and if I had any idea how to fix it, I would." He looked Gibbs straight in the eye. "Believe me, there's nothing I want more than to fix this."

Gibbs took note of the shaking agent's seriousness. DiNozzo? Serious? Shit. What the hell happened? "Explain, before I stop being nice," he ground out between clenched teeth.

"THIS is nice?" Tony stammered nervously. "Boy Gibbs, think you've had a few too many cervezas down there on the beach, you're forgetting word definitions…" He winced as his back thudded against the wall again. "Ok, ok, talking, talking!" He took a deep breath, and prayed that Gibbs would leave his face alone - he wanted to look good in his casket. "About a month ago, Abby…Abby was attacked." A hand from his lapels came up around his throat and squeezed. "Need air to talk, Boss," he gasped. The hold on his throat loosened just a little, and Tony quickly sucked in a deep breath. "She was in the hospital for a week, has been home for 2.…."

Gibbs' blood was on fire. Someone hurt HIS Abby! They'll die slowly and painfully, he'd see to that. Right after he killed DiNozzo for allowing it to happen. "Define. Attacked."

"She was," Tony whispered, knowing what Gibbs was really asking. Had Abby been raped. The hand around his neck clenched tighter, and he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Strong for an old man, his brain thought. His next thought was that he never got to see whether it was a boy or girl. A boy would've been nice - every guy wants a son to carry on the name, to play sports with, teach about girls…. But a little girl? Hmmmm…. Nothing says she couldn't play sports. Yeah, a little girl with Abby-black hair, her green eyes, and the DiNozzo smile…. Teddy bears and dolls, playing dress-up, sweet little girl cuddles and kisses….she'd be a heartbreaker. Wait, heartbreaker…. Little girls grow up into… and there'd be guys like HIM looking at HIS little girl…. Oh HELL no! She wouldn't date until she was 40, and even then, he would chaperone. With his Sig Sauer in plain sight. No one was gonna' mess with HIS little girl.

IF he was alive to create her that is, he thought, sucking in as much air as he could.

Gibbs saw red, and squeezed a little harder. "Abby was hurt on YOUR watch, DiNozzo!" he growled. "It was YOUR job to take care of her! She trusts you like a BROTHER! _**I **_TRUSTED you to take care of her cuz I KNEW you WOULD! All you had to do was look in on her, keep her happy and in Caf-Pow! All you had to do was…"

Tony squeaked and gasped for air, and croaked out pathetically, "Sleep with her?"

_**Outside the conference room…**_

The Director, Ziva, and McGee were outside the conference room with their ears to the door. Their expressions as they listened were quite different. Jenny's face was a mask of concern - she knew well what Gibbs was capable of when "in the zone," and was worried for Tony. Tim was downright scared, eyes wide, mouth open in shock at what he was hearing. And Ziva… well, Ziva was rather enjoying the goings-on behind the door, and she wore a devilish smile. Tony was getting his cake. Wait, was that correct? She scowled, trying to remember the stupid American idiom… well, it had something to do with after-dinner sweets, she knew that…. Another thud brought her attention back to the door, and she smiled again. She only wished she could see what was happening. Nothing like a good fight between two severely mismatched opponents to brighten an assassin's day.

_**Back inside the conference room…..**_

Gibbs stopped his rant. He didn't hear what he just heard. He could NOT have heard what he thinks he heard…. "What?" he asked roughly. He saw the truth in Tony's eyes.

"S…sl…sleep. Uh, sleep, sleep with her…?" Ohhhh Tony-boy, your life just ended, he thought to himself as Gibbs glared him in the eye.

"You had BETTER mean as brother and sister while she had a nightmare," Gibbs muttered dangerously. Tony just stared at him, face a bright shade of red. "Don't make me have to kill you, DiNozzo."

"N-n-not as brother and sis-sister. Or as co-workers," Tony stammered on a wheeze. But he had to admit that he felt a little better getting that off his chest.

"Goddammit, DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled, dropping the younger agent, watching him sink to his knees like a stone. Once he was certain Tony was breathing regularly, he began to pace the room. "YOU… and ABBY? What the HELL were you THINKING, DiNozzo? You were thinking with the wrong damn head, that's what you were doing!" He came back and got in Tony's face again, beyond angry. "One simple thing - TAKE. CARE. OF. ABBY. Not FUCK her!"

"I love her," Tony stated, staring Gibbs straight in the eye. He saw the surprise on the older man's face.

"What?" Gibbs asked in disbelief. Did DiNozzo just say…..

"I love her," Tony said louder. "I love her, Gibbs. Not like a co-worker. Not like a sister. Like a man loves a woman. Like a lover."

Looking into Tony's eyes, Gibbs knew that what the young agent said was the truth. He was stunned. He'd never seen this coming. He backed away, giving Tony some space, unsure what to say. Tony had slept with Abby… HIS Abby…. His daughter. Why wasn't he more upset about this news? He paced the room, all sorts of questions running around in his head. When… how…. What…. Why? At the window, he turned and watched his former SFA pull himself up off the floor. He'd trusted Tony for years to have his six, trusted him to run the team when he wasn't there, and yes, trusted him to take care of Abby when he wasn't around. He knew Tony well enough to know that he would protect Abby with his life… he'd proved that here in this room here today. He owed it to Tony to listen to his explanation. "You love her?" he asked quietly.

"I love her," Tony said unflinchingly. "I fucked up royally with her, I know that, and I'd give anything to fix it." Looking at Gibbs, he shook his head sadly, hoping his former friend would understand. "I never meant to hurt her. You've gotta' know I'd take a bullet before I'd ever hurt her, Gibbs."

Leaning on the counter, Gibbs sighed and ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Yeah, I know," he said stoically. He could see that Tony was miserable and decided to give the whole 'sleeping with Abby' thing a rest for the moment, so he went for the assault. "What happened, DiNozzo? How did someone get to our girl?"

Tony dropped heavily into a chair, putting his head in his hands. "It was about a month ago. We had a really big case, were working around the clock to close it. None of us had the time to go visit her, except for dropping off evidence. But I… we … never got the impression that anything was bothering her. After the whole…. Sleeping together thing, things were kind of…weird… between Abby and me, so I'd usually send someone else down. We had just gotten a major break in the case, and I sent Lee down to the lab with some evidence." He took a pen out of his pocket and began to play with it nervously. "She came right back and asked if anyone knew where Abbs was, the lights were off in the lab, evidence was piling up on the table…."

Gibbs growled, so Tony continued.

"We all went running down to the lab, and Lee was right. Lab was dark, boxes of evidence untouched on the table. Made some phone calls, apparently no one had seen her for a couple of days. She hadn't called in." Tony could see Gibbs' muscles tightening and talked faster. "I sent McGee to her place to check on her - she would hide in bed all day right after you left, so we'd take turns going over to drag her in. She'd been doing well lately,but I thought maybe something had caused a setback." He tossed his pen down and got up. He walked over to the window and looked out, but only saw his memories.

"We called her cell and landlines, left dozens of messages. McGee came back when he found nothing out of place at her apartment, and set up a trace on her phone while Ziva pulled feed from every camera in the Yard. The trace on her cell said she was somewhere in the Yard. Security was alerted." Tony sighed, closed his eyes, and rested his forehead against the window, the guilt eating at him all over again.

"Security check showed her car was in the lot. Video showed us it hadn't moved in about three days." Standing so close to Gibbs, Tony could feel the rage radiating off of him. "Lee and McGee went out with one of his gizmo-thingies to find her phone while Ziva and I went through the lot and garage cam feeds. McGee called in to say they'd found her phone…then some other things from her purse."

Tony closed his eyes against the tears wanting to form. "That was about the time Ziva and I found the last video of Abby…she was," he clenched his jaw, "bouncing across the lot, obviously happy about something. Then a figure in black - a man - stepped out from between cars and grabbed her arm. She appeared to know him, didn't seem afraid of him. They argued," Tony's hands tightened into fists recalling the memory. "Abby turned to walk away, and he grabbed her around the neck from behind. She, uh (sniff), she struggled. Dropped her purse, stuff went everywhere. Put a good ding in the hood of Agent Moss' personal vehicle with her foot as she tried to fight him off." He smiled sardonically. "Now _that_ was funny to watch, Moss trying to figure out where this big ol' dent, smack-dab center in the hood came from, when there was nothing around. You could see he was mystified…" he jumped when Gibbs cleared his throat. "The guy was taller, bigger than she was….. He dragged her off the way he'd come."

Turning to look at Gibbs, Tony didn't care if his eyes were moist. He'd seen Gibbs perturbed, pissed, and enraged. But he'd never seen the look he wore now. This went beyond enraged. "McGee pulled her phone records, Ziva went through her emails, Lee her credit cards. I tried to follow their movements from camera to camera. The guy had parked off-base, and I lost them." Tony winced, remembering the feeling of Abby just disappearing off the screen. "McGee came up with a phone number, Ziva some emails between Abby and this guy, 'Thad'," he said mockingly, his go 'round with the guy fresh in his mind. "Guess he'd been a boyfriend, but Abby'd ended it. He wouldn't accept it was over, continued the emails and the calls. Then they just… stopped." He ran a shaking hand through his hair in an effort to calm himself. "Abbs must've figured he'd finally gotten the hint. The day she was … taken," his voice wavered, " it had been a couple of weeks since he'd tried to make contact."

Tony turned pleading eyes to his mentor, begging him to understand. "She never told me… _us_, there was a problem, Gibbs. If I'd known….." He shook his head sadly and swallowed hard. "In the hospital, Abby told Ziva that she knew we were deep into our big case and she didn't want to bother us." He laughed sarcastically, a lone tear clinging to his lower eye lashes. "Didn't want to bother us. Like there'd ever be anything more important than keeping her safe." He snorted in derision. "More like, she was so uncomfortable with ME that she felt she couldn't tell the team."

He took a few steps and sank into the closest chair. "This whole thing is MY fault. If I hadn't… or we hadn't…. if I'd been man enough to say what I was thinking…. Instead of making her feel like….like…," Tony's hands gestured in the air as he searched for the right words. "Abby was…_hurt_," he ground out, "because I was too damned scared to face up to what had happened between us, to what I was feeling." He jumped out of the chair and paced. "I mean, this is _ABBY, _the one person I've always been able to talk about _anything_ with, for God's sake! Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself. She's always been able to see right through me, Gibbs, sees the things I don't let anyone else see. And there's no one else on the planet that I trust the way I trust Abby. And up until _now_, at least, she's been able to trust _ME_. But when she needed me the most….." Tony shook his head, pulled his arm back and slammed his fist into the nearby metal file cabinet. His head hung down, shoulders heaving with his heavy breathing.

Gibbs was silent for a while, studying his former SFA. He'd seen DiNozzo with countless women, heard all the stories about his conquests, knew he wasn't the kind to get emotionally involved with _any_ woman. So he was a bit shocked to see how upset he was about Abby. Sure, he'd have been upset before, would have gladly maimed any guy that so much as _looked_ at his surrogate sister the wrong way. But this….this was different. Could it be for real? Could DiNozzo _really_ be in love with Abby? Crap! He knew that Abby had had a crush on Tony in the beginning, knew that even though she accepted the role as his little sister happily, there was still something there under the surface. Gibbs thought about the resignation letter she'd written. No one else would see it, but he did. She wasn't resigning for herself so much, as she was doing it for Tony. She knew he was uneasy with everything that had happened between them, and was giving him a way out. She always did wear her heart on her sleeve.

Tony paced back to the window, shaking his twice-bruised hand, the pain not really registering, what with everything going on in his head. "I really screwed this up, Boss. I hurt the one person in the world that meant the most to me. I let her be hurt - _raped_," he growled, mad at himself, "by someone who wanted nothing more than just to hurt her. I…. said some really….." he winced, thinking about that last argument he and Abby had had. In front of the entire squadroom. "_Really_ bad things. Things I never should have said. Things I didn't mean. Things that hurt Abby. And because of _me_ and my idiocy, she's leaving NCIS, a job she loves more than anything." Tony looked over his shoulder at Gibbs. "I fucked up, Gibbs. And I don't know how to fix it. I want to fix it. I _need_ to fix it."

Gibbs stood there, hands folded across his stomach as he leaned against the shelf by the window. The picture of cool and calm. "You finished?" he asked quietly with a raised eyebrow. He saw Tony nod. "Good." Gibbs leaned over and head-slapped him. "OK, so you screwed the pooch, get over it. What are you gonna' _do_ about it?" Before Tony could answer, Gibbs held a finger up to his lips and silently crossed the room to the door, whipping it open quickly when he got there. Three familiar bodies fell into the room, falling all over each other, each stumbling out a lame excuse. He turned to Tony. "Maybe Larry, Moe, and Curly here, can help you out with it. I'm going for a coffee." And he stalked out of the room.

Tim was the only one brave (or stupid) enough to ask, "help you out with what?"

Tony just sighed and turned back to the window, a hand rubbing the back of his head. Huh….he was beginning to understand things better now. Maybe there really _was_ something to the Gibbs-Slap…..

**A/N: The idiom Ziva was trying to use as she was listening in at the door was Tony getting his "**_**just desserts**_**." If anyone has any ideas about how Tony can begin to "fix things" with Abby, feel free to let me know, either in a **_**REVIEW **_**- hint, hint - or a PM. And remember - the more REVIEWS, the faster I get the next chapter up! Cuz REVIEWS are better than chocolate (**_**GASP! **_**Can't believe I said that!), they release happy, little endorphins that course thru my bloodstream, firing up neurons and the like, that charge up the brain and get all the …. Whatever it is that's up in the brain working like a freight train!**

**SO: **_**I'M BEGGING YOU! REVIEW !**_

**This concludes the shameful begging part of our program. And the chapter. **

**Toodles!**


	16. Chapter 16

_**MONSTER IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**CHAPTER 16**_

_**A/N:**_** This chapter is really just an author's note, begging for some story help! I've kind of hit a major writer's block, here, and don't know where to go. I know how I want to END it, but don't know quite how to get there. We left off with Gibbs going to get coffee (after he gets coffee, he goes to interrogation and watches Tony's interrogation of TFT3. Jenny comes in, and there's some sort of conversation. Don't know what gets said). Tony is left with Tim and Ziva, trying to figure out how to get Abby back. No idea how to do that. The very end of the chapter, though, is going to be Fornell coming in with the news that… well…. Someone very bad has escaped FBI custody, is armed and dangerous, and is going after… well, someone else. (Didn't want to give out spoilers!)**

**So can ya'll give me some suggestions on what you'd like to see happen with Gibbs in watching the video, and/or Tony trying to figure out how to get Abby back? 'twould be much greatly appreciated! I just need something to jumpstart the ol' brain, I guess. I was afraid something like this would happen - I always get only so far, then hit a brick wall. Normally, I just forget about the story, but I truly want to finish this, and I want it to not suck, so - I'm appealing to the audience for help!**

_**A/N II:**_** I'm giving you a choice for the next story. I have 2 different stories (no titles yet) for you to choose from. The one with the most votes wins. Polls are open 'til Sunday, April 1****st****, in the evening. **

_**UNTITLED #1: Tony and the team are called to a naval base school for what turns out to be a bomb. Problem is, there's a teacher and 3 of her special needs kids trapped in the elevator. Will be Tony-centric, opportunity for an OC romance (not in the elevator!) (Can't decide if Tony knows the tchr in some way already - a recent ex, a friend from college he hasn't seen in years, something like that.) Teacher and kids are rescued (by Tony).**_

_**UNTITLED #2: Tony, Gibbs, and the team are called in to rescue young female members of marine and naval families, who they discover were taken by human traffickers to a foreign country. They rescue most, except for one woman (in her 20's) and a handful of young girls. Tony and Gibbs go undercover as rich, scummy, big-wigs looking to buy the girls at auction. Tony falls in love with the young woman, but at first, she thinks he's evil. Some things happen, and she realizes the truth, which is good because she's starting to fall for Tony, also. Tony and Gibbs rescue all the kids and the young woman.**_

**So there are your choices. PLEASE let me know which you'd like to read next, #1 or #2! And remember, if you have any ideas on MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS, I'd love to hear them!**

**Thanks, ya'll! I really appreciate it!**

_**(and please go read my most recent story, Abby and the Chocolate Factory - just a fun 2-shot that's been on my mind for a while. It's based on Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Only starring Abby and the team! THANKS!)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**A/N - Well, I think I may be over my block when it comes to this story! Let's hope so, anyway! Hope ya'll like this chapter, I free-wrote it as it came to me so I wouldn't lose "the mojo" of it. I own nothing having to do with NCIS or CBS, more's the pity. And please use that Review button at the end - it's starting to get an inferiority complex from being used so sparingly. C'mon, let's help the little guy out and use him to Review!**_

_**Chapter 17**_

Back sitting at his desk after his "discussion" with Gibbs, Tony wracked his brain for a way to apologize to Abby and beg her forgiveness. He'd thought of dozens of black roses, but that was so cliché. Besides, it's not like she never gets black roses - that's what everyone _**always**_ gives her. No, flowers just wouldn't do. This had to be special, but not so over-the-top that Abby would think he was trying too hard and reject it. He knew the Secret of Abby. She may give the appearance of wild, flamboyant, and hardcore, but on the inside, where it counted, she appreciated small, thoughtful gestures. So, "just-for-Abby" special, yet not outrageous.

He was so deep in thought that he was startled when his cell phone rang. Seeing it wasn't Abby or anything concerning a case, he let it go to voicemail. Hmmmm, maybe he could get a tatt? Abby knew his aversion to needles. He'd be showing her he's ready to get over his fears - for her. ….. Nah, while she might be touched by the gesture, she'd most likely get mad that he did something so permanent for a girl. Yeah, Tony could remember a few times that both he and Gibbs had tried to talk her out of getting a tattoo for a guy that all three of them knew wouldn't be in her life for very long. OK, so no ink (he gave a silent sigh of relief).

When his cell rang again a few minutes later, he decided to answer it so it wouldn't interrupt his concentration again. "Yeah, DiNozzo," he answered sharply.

"Hey, Love Machine! 'bout time you picked up!" A happy voice responded.

Tony sighed. He so wasn't into dealing with this right now.__"Hey Scotty," he answered. "What's up?"

"Just making sure you're all set for the trip, man. Miami Beach, look out! Here come the Buckeyes!"

He squeezed his eyes with his fingers. He'd forgotten all about the Spring Break in Miami trip with his old frat buddies. It had been planned since _**last**_ year's Spring Break. He wasn't in the mood for drinking endlessly, sleeping with any young thing that fell into his bed, partying non-stop. Wait, maybe that was just the thing he needed right now. Something to boost his spirits. Besides, the trip had been in the works for like, forever. His mind flashed back to a day a few months ago in Abby's lab.

_**Flashback**_

"_Ohhhhhh, c'mon, Tony, it'll be fun! Me and you, New York, Android Lust and Brain Matter…!" Abby said enthusiastically._

_Tony chuckled. "Sorry, Abbs, normally I'd __**love **__to go to a double-header concert with you, but that's the week I'll be in Miami Beach with my frat buddies for Spring Break."_

_Abby pouted. "But Tonnnnnyyyyyyyyyy," she whined, "it's not __**just**__ a concert, it's a small venue - only 50 seats! And afterward you get to talk with the band, have drinks with them…." She lay her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his chest. "You know how much I love them. And I don't want to go to New York all by myself, that's no fun…." She was playing the "Keep Abby Safe" card, and didn't feel guilty in the least!_

_Tony unwound Abby's arms from his chest and gave her forehead a kiss before slipping out from under where her head rested on her shoulder. "__**I**__ don't want you going to New York alone, either, so, no __**me**__, no __**you**__. Comprende?" he said firmly. Her pout reminded him of a little girl, and he chuckled to himself._

"_Ohhhhh, ok," Abby said forlornly. "Being such a small venue, I'd probably never get tickets, anyway." She walked sadly to her computer, still pouting._

_Damn, but he hated seeing her so sad. He came up behind her and wrapped her in a hug, his head on her shoulder so he could see her face. "Sorry, Abbs. I just don't like the thought of you up there all by yourself when I'm all the way down in Miami." He felt her sigh and squeezed her a bit harder. "I know you can take care of yourself, and it's not __**you**__ I don't trust. It's everyone else I worry about. It would kill me if anything happened to you up there, and I was so far away."_

_Abby nodded. "I know," she sulked, eyes on her computer screen._

_Tony kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, here's an idea," he said, hoping to cheer her up. "Next time they're in town, I'll take you to the concert. I can score front row seats." He saw her look at him skeptically out of the corner of her eye. "What? I…. __**know**__….a woman in the ticket office," he said with a smug grin._

_Abby thought, how can I really make him pay for not coming to New York with me…. "will you take me out to dinner first?" she asked. _

_He gave her a squeeze. "Anywhere you want to go."_

_She smiled a little devilish smirk at him. "__**Anywhere**__?" she asked._

_Tony stopped grinning. "Well…within reason. I'm not going to eat raw fish or tofu or anything not instantly identifiable."_

_Abby kissed his cheek happily and loudly, leaving a big, darkest red lip print behind. "Deal. No raw, no tofu, and all easily identifiable!" She said, grinning. "I can't, however, promise that it won't be pricey…" she said with a smirk._

"_Pricey I can handle. Tofu…not so much." He was glad all was well in Abby World again. "So. Whatcha' got for me, Abbs?"_

_**End flashback**_

Hot Damn! That was it, Tony thought to himself with a relieved smile. He must have made some kind of noise, because his buddy asked him what was going on. He'd completely forgotten he was on the phone. "Oh, hey, yeah. Umm, Scotty, something's come up, I'm not going to make Spring Break this year, man." He was already looking up phone numbers in his rolodex, plans coming together in his mind.

"Whaaaaat? Oh c'mon, Tone. You _**gotta'**_ come. You're the Love Machine! How are we supposed to get the good lookin' chicks without you?"

Tony was already dialing a number into his desk phone. "Sorry Scotty, but something a helluva' lot more important came up. Sorry, man. Listen, you guys keep my deposit, to make up for the short notice, OK?" The other phone line was ringing. "I gotta' go. Have a great time, ok? Take pictures." He slapped the cell shut just as a voice answered on the other phone. "Uh, hey. It's me…..yeah, it's been a while. I just….well, I need a favor….."

_***NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS***_

After getting his coffee, Gibbs made his way to MTAC, where he was now sitting in the dark, watching Tony's interrogation of the creature that hurt Abby. He was unaware that he was giving the screen The Glare, like it was himself doing the questioning. This was the third or fourth time he's watched it, looking for signs - from Tony, from the perp.

Every time he came to the part where DiNozzo talks about certain… acts…with Abby, Gibbs could feel his blood pressure threatening to blow his head off. Intellectually, he had no problem with DiNozzo's tactic - forming a bond with the suspect, lull them into complacency so they'll feel more free to talk. But in his heart and soul….it just made him sick. Made him want to throw DiNozzo against the wall and choke the life right out of him.

Just like Tony had done to the suspect, later on in the video. Watching that scene again, hearing Fornell asking which Abby it was, hearing the emotion in DiN…. _**Tony's**_ voice…. There was no way Gibbs could mistake Tony's feelings for Abby. Oh, no doubt he would have used the same move on the perp himself, but he had the feeling that the reason would have been different. Yeah, Gibbs loved Abby. As a daughter, as a friend. But he'd have to be blind not to see that she meant so much more to Tony.

"He's become quite the interrogator," interrupted a female voice as Gibbs stopped the video on a shot of DiNozzo with his arm across Bensonhurst's windpipe, a killing look in his eye.

"He's always been a good interrogator, Jen," he answered, not really surprised to find her standing there.

Jenny walked over and sat next to Gibbs. "Yes, he was, in a casual way. He never would have done something like _**this**_," she pointed at the screen, "before you left. The tough, angry interrogator role was _**yours**_, in his mind. He would bore the suspect into giving him the information he needed, whereas _**Gibbs**_ was the one to be feared in that room. Kind of a 'good cop, bad cop' kind of thing."

Gibbs looked at Jenny out of the corner of his eye, still staring at the screen. "So…what? You tellin' me he grew a pair while I've been gone?"

Jenny smirked. "No, he's _**always**_ had a pair. He just never needed them before now. And he's had all these years to study and learn from you. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that _**his**_ pair may be bigger than _**yours**_."

Gibbs scoffed silently. "He brought his emotions into the room with him. Never good to let your emotions get the better of you while interrogating a suspect."

Jenny shook her head. Jethro was intent on finding fault with everything DiNozzo has done. "So you're telling me that you wouldn't have done the same, exact thing," she argued, pointing at the frozen screen, "in that situation?" When he didn't answer, she knew that he knew she was right, but would never admit to it. "Over Abby?" she added slyly, knowing the answer already.

Bolting out of his chair, Gibbs began to pace in front of the screen. "Whaddya' want me to say here, Jen?" he growled. "Yes, he's gotten damned good in interrogation. But he knew better than to break Rule 12 with Abby. _**Especially **_with Abby! He's…." he searched for a word. "She's….." He was grasping at straws and he knew it.

Jenny stood and marched over to Gibbs. "Stop the world! Someone broke one of the Almighty Gibbs' Rules!" She followed as Jethro strode away from her sarcasm. "Tell me, Jethro. Who is it you trusted more than anyone to take care of Abby, not just after you left, but any time before that?" She saw Jethro begin to lose some starch. She turned him bodily to face the screen, where Tony was frozen larger than life, a determined set to his jaw, deadly precision in his action, and murder in his eyes. "_**Look**_ at him, Jethro. He wants more than to take care of Abby. He wants to be her hero, to save her from all the horrible things in the world." She could see him wavering, and decided to play her ace card. "She's his Shannon, Jethro," she said quietly, reminding him that she remembered that she, herself, had never been the same for Gibbs during their time in Paris. "Are you _**really**_ going to deny that boy you've treated like a _**son**_ his chance at having a Shannon of his own?"

Gibbs deflated instantly. How Tony felt about Abby was right there on his face, ten feet tall in front of him. He couldn't, in good conscience, keep DiNozzo from the kind of happiness he'd had himself with Shannon. But he was also afraid for his two favorite "kids." He knew the pain either one would experience if, God Forbid, something happened to the other, and he wouldn't wish that kind of pain - _**his**_ pain - on anyone. Especially Abby and Tony.

Jenny could tell what Jethro was thinking - his grief was there in his eyes. "They can't live their lives in cocoons, all wrapped up safe and sound….and unhappy." She swallowed tightly. This was just as hard for her as it was for him. "Tell me, Jethro. Had you known how things were going to go with Shannon, before you married her…..would you have called it all off? Or would you marry her anyway, because having even a short time together is better than never having time at all?" She waited a moment, watching the question sink in. Then she turned and walked away just as silently as she'd come.

_**A/N - Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I realize there may be a bit of OOC-ness, but hey, that's why it's fiction, and I'm not writing for the show for CBS. And REMEMBER, please help our little Review button gain some confidence, and hit "REVIEW"! Much appreciated! (No one likes a sad Review button!)**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**Chapter 18**_

Tony slammed the phone down happily. "**YES**!" he yelled, fist pumping into the air. Looking up, he saw the entire team looking at him with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Not wanting to give away his plans, he said, "Uh, new issue of GSM is in…." His team scoffed, rolling their eyes at him, and going back to work. But Tony couldn't help the little happy chair dance and smug smile, he was so excited. He had the perfect plan for making things up with Abby. Well, at least bringing her back to NCIS, if not 'making up' with him. Damn, that thought put a slight damper on his joy. But then he realized that he'd take Abby back any way he could, and if it meant just as colleagues, he'd take it. 'Besides,' he thought with another smug smile, 'once she's back at NCIS, it will give me time to get her back with _**me**_, too.'

"Smile on someone else's time, DiNozzo," barked Gibbs as he came down the stairs from MTAC. "Where are we on getting Abby back? McGee!"

The young agent jumped. He hadn't been yelled at like that since…well, since Gibbs left. "Uh," he stammered, typing away on his computer. "No answer on either her cell or landline. She bought a one-way ticket to Las Vegas, leaving Dulles at 4 PM this afternoon."

Tony walked to the plasma tv screen. "Where's her cell now?" he asked McGee.

"It's still at her home address. I've had the trace running since this morning, it hasn't moved in that time."

"Any calls to or from the phone, McGee?" asked Gibbs, standing next to Tony with his coffee, staring at the screen.

McGee typed a moment, checking the program. "Nothing since buying the plane ticket this morning, in or out, boss….es," he finished after a glare from both Tony and Gibbs.

"Ziva, anything from Vegas?" Tony asked.

Ziva stood and joined the two men at the plasma screen. "I spoke with a Nick Stokes, he's an officer with the LVPD's crime lab. He says he and another officer, Catherine Willows, are planning on picking Abby up at the airport at 1600, their time, when her plane arrives. He says he will ask her to call one of us when she gets in."

Agent Lee finally spoke up. "I'm surprised she's not answering for Agent Gibbs, the way she has his picture all over the lab." She became very nervous when five sets of eyes stared at her. "Sorry?" she said anxiously, beginning to fidget at the stillness in the bullpen.

All of a sudden, everyone was moving, renewing their efforts at what they'd been doing. Gibbs pulled out his cell phone as Tony and Jenny stood by. None of them could believe that no one had even _**thought**_ of having Gibbs try to call Abby. "Abby….Abby, it's Gibbs….pick up the damned phone, Abbs," he ordered. Tony and Jenny rolled their eyes.

"Oh yeah," Jenny said sarcastically. "Like she'd really answer for _**that**_ message." She took the phone out of Gibbs' hands and dialed Abby. "Abby, sweetie, it's for real. Gibbs is in DC, here at NCIS. He needs to see you, needs to know you're ok, so if you won't come by, would you please, at least, call us… _**him**_," she corrected at Gibbs' glare, "so we know you're alright." She hung up and gave the phone back. "More flies with honey than vinegar, Jethro."

Gibbs grimaced as he dialed Abby's landline. "Ran out of honey years ago," he griped. "Just as well. All those flies were a pain in the ass." He turned away as the answering machine picked up. "Abby!" he growled. Then, thinking of her, his surrogate daughter, his voice softened. "Abbs….please. I need you to call me. I need to know you're safe. We can work things out, but you need to come to NCIS, or call me." Not very comfortable with being that "soft," Gibbs said, "Don't you _**dare**_ get on that plane this afternoon, Abigail. You hear me? Do _**not **_make me come after you," he grumbled like his old self.

Meanwhile, Tony was calling Abby's cell. "Abby, it's Tony… I guess you knew that…I…." he paused, hoping everyone wouldn't hear him trying to talk around the lump in his throat. "Abby…Abbs. Gibbs is really here, and he really does want to see you. We _**all**_do." He ran a shaking hand through his hair, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his gut. "I'll leave, go somewhere, you won't have to see me. Just…_**please**_, Abbs," he rasped out, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "Please call someone, let us know you're ok. Ok?…I'm…. I….(sigh)…just call, ok?" he finished sadly, wishing he'd had the courage to say what he'd wanted to - that he was sorry, that he loved her. Tony put his head down on his desk after he hung up, hands tugging at his hair restlessly.

Seeing his former SFA so unsettled, Gibbs sat a hip on the corner of Tony's desk, leaning in to see the young man's face. "Ya' ok, DiNozzo?" he asked quietly.

Tony looked up at Gibbs, feeling very uneasy. "Does your stomach churn when your gut goes on alert?" he asked, a hand on his torso.

"That's probably the pepperoni-sausage-meatball sandwich you had for lunch," Ziva wisecracked from across the bullpen.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny. _**Not.**_" Tony turned to Gibbs. "Seriously, what does it feel like when the infamous Gut goes off?"

Gibbs eyed Tony, steely-blue eyes taking measure of the younger man, liking what he was seeing, yet concerned. "What's _**your**_ gut telling you?" He could see that Tony had _**something**_ giving him a warning, which in turn, made his own sensors go off.

Tony looked around nervously, trying to get a handle on the feeling running through his body. "There's a sense of restlessness…urgency….I don't know how to describe it."

Tim rolled his eyes and looked over at Ziva. "First, he tries to _**be**_ Gibbs, now he's trying to use The Gibbs Gut," he said sarcastically.

"'_**ey!"**_ Gibbs yelled, turning on Tim and Ziva. Tony was finally tuning in his sixth sense, and he didn't want anyone ruining that. "_**Always**_follow your team leader's gut. If Tony says he's got something, then he's got something," he snarled. Gibbs turned back to Tony. "Tell me, Tony," he said quietly, laying a hand on the team leader's shoulder. "Tell me what ya' got."

Tony gave Gibbs a grateful look. "Something's wrong. Somewhere…. I've got a bad feeling about this." He dragged his hands through his hair again. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's trouble," he worried. He glanced at Gibbs, hoping his mentor wouldn't be laughing at him like the others. He really couldn't explain the feeling, a feeling of….impending doom, was all that he could think of to describe it.

Gibbs gave Tony's shoulder a squeeze. "Go with that feeling, Tony. It will never steer you wrong." He returned the younger man's small smile. "I feel it, too."

Everyone was so intent on tracking down or trying to get ahold of Abby that no one heard the elevator ding or saw the gentleman that entered their bullpen until he spoke.

"Well, nice to know that The Gut still works even in retirement," Tobias Fornell said gruffly. "Should have known you'd show up, Gibbs."

Gibbs spared Fornell a glance. "What do you want, Fornell? We don't have time to chat, we're kinda' busy, here."

Fornell raised an eyebrow. "Trying to locate Miss Sciuto, perhaps?"

All eyes went to Fornell, and Gibbs and Tony walked up to the man, eyes blazing. "What do _**you**_ know about it?" growled Gibbs.

"Well," the FBI agent began almost jovially, "I know she's supposed to be on a plane to Vegas in a couple of hours."

"_**And**_?" Tony spat.

Fornell stopped smiling. "Let's just say that, for all our sakes, I really hope she gets on that plane."

Gibbs straightened and stepped into Fornell's space. "Spit it out, Tobias," he ordered.

Looking past Gibbs to Tony, Fornell said slowly, "Thad Bensonhurst, the Third, escaped FBI custody this morning, and is considered armed and dangerous." Glancing between Tony and Gibbs and back again, he continued, "And we think he may be going after Miss Sciuto."

_**CLIFFIE! Hee hee hee! And you'll NEVER find out what happens unless you REVIEW! Hee hee hee!**_

_**A/N - Wow! I can't believe I actually wrote a cliffy! Didn't know I had it in me! But like I said - if you want to know what happens, you need to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I need at LEAST 150 new reviews before I'll write the next chapter. Ok, Ok, I'll settle for 10. 7.… ok, ok, 5, but that's my final offer!**_

_**A/N2- I receive no monetary compensation from the entity that is NCIS, Belisarius Productions, CBS, or any of their affiliates for this fanfic. If I did, I wouldn't be struggling with those credit card bills - I would be able to make a dent in them for a change! And if I did, maybe Tabby would really exist!**_

_**REMEMBER! I need REVIEWS to make me write the next chapter, or we'll never find out poor Abby's fate - will she get on the plane to Vegas? Or will something evil happen? Will Tony's Gut be right, and there really IS trouble? Or is it like Ziva suggested - just his lunch? REVIEW to find out!**_

_**A/N3 - A MONDO thank you to all the new Alerters, Favoriters, and Reviewers! I tried to thank all of you personally - if I missed anyone, I'm really sorry. Just know that all the alerts, etc., made my day, week, month….year! THANK YOU!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**

**Chapter 19**

_**Where we left things….**_

_Looking past Gibbs to Tony, Fornell said slowly, "Thad Bensonhurst, the Third, escaped FBI custody this morning, and is considered armed and dangerous." Glancing between Tony and Gibbs and back again, he continued, "And we think he may be going after Miss Sciuto."_

_**We now rejoin our program, already in progress….**_

Fornell slammed into the plasma screen so hard, it was a wonder it didn't crack. The team rushed in, trying to break it up.

"You _**sonuvabitch!**_" Tony yelled, holding Fornell by the lapels and still managing to keep the others off of him. "You said she'd be _**safe! **_You _**had**_ that bastard, and you let him_** escape?**_"

Ziva was grabbing Tony by the arm, and Tim had him in a bear hug, both trying to pull Tony off of Fornell, while Gibbs tried to get between the two men. It was Jenny that finally got through to him, just as the others managed to move him away from the FBI agent. "_**Back off, Agent DiNozzo!**_" she ordered in a firm voice.

The red haze started to fade, but Tony still wanted to hurt someone. Gibbs got right up in his face and growled, "You're no good to Abby if you're in prison, DiNozzo. Let him go."

Shrugging off Tim and Ziva, Tony threw his hands in the air, showing he was hands off as he paced like a caged tiger, breathing hard and trying to calm himself. He knew Gibbs was right, but _**Dammit…..!**_

After making sure Tony was under control, Gibbs turned to Tobias, who was straightening his suit coat. "_**What**_ the _**hell**_ happened, Tobias? This guy was supposed to be _**locked up**_!" he seethed. "And you'd _**better**_ tell me that the person who let this happen is out of a job!"

Fornell took a steadying breath. He knew he was lucky to be alive after the news he'd delivered. "I wasn't there, Gibbs. All I know is, he was being taken back to a holding cell after questioning, to wait for transfer back to the Pen. Bensonhurst managed to fall behind his detail, feigning illness. When they went to retrieve him, he hit one of the guards in the face, hard enough to knock him out. He choked the other as he called for help. He stole the cuff keys and both officers' guns." Looking around at all the agents, knowing there was no excuse for what happened, Fornell said, "The officer he hit in the face has 30 stitches holding it together. Both he and his partner are on administrative leave pending an investigation."

Tony gave a sarcastic laugh. "_**Great**_," he said with false enthusiasm. "While they're sitting home, getting _**paid**_ to watch daytime t.v., Bensonhurst, that sonuvabitch, is out hunting Abby!" He turned to Jenny. "You shouldn't have stopped me from killing him, Jenny," he said angrily.

"Tony, you _**know**_ that wasn't the way…" Jenny began.

"Yes, it _**was**_ the way!" he thundered. "If I had killed him, none of this would be happening!"

"And then _**you**_ would be the one in lock up right now!" bellowed Gibbs.

Tony got in Gibbs' face. "And I wouldn't regret a single, goddamn _**minute**_ of it, because at least then I'd know Abby's _**safe!" **_he spat furiously. And just like that, with the mention of Abby, Tony's anger drained away to be replaced by heartsickness and fear. He dropped into the chair nearest him, unable to stand. "He's going after Abby, Boss," he moaned, "_**my **_Abby." He looked up at Gibbs, who was still on the offensive. "He's going after my girl," he said plaintively, his expression all but begging his mentor to tell him everything would be alright, to tell him what to do.

Seeing the normally stoic, cool-under-pressure DiNozzo start to crack, Gibbs, nor anyone else, could dispute the young man's feelings for the lovable goth. Gibbs tried talking to Tony, but the agent's head was far away somewhere - with Abby. "_'ey_," he said quietly, getting in Tony's face and giving him a light Gibbs-Slap. He put his hands on either side of his former agent's face, forcing the man to focus just on Gibbs' eyes. "You list'nin', DiNozzo?" he asked softly but firmly, steel-blue eyes holding green frozen. At Tony's slight nod, Gibbs said, "we'll stop him." Getting no kind of response, except for green eyes drifting away from his, Gibbs followed Tony's eyes with his own, making him see the truth there. "_'_Ey," he said gruffly. "We _**will.**_ Stop. Him." He held his gaze until Tony nodded. "We'll stop him."

"Yeah," Tony said, feeling drained yet strangely sure of the situation. "We'll stop him," he agreed, releasing a deep breath. Looking at a photo of the team - Abby front and center, smiling that big smile of hers - on the desk nearest him, he promised Abby, "we'll stop him."

_**A/N**__**- **_**Oooooooohhhhh, what a horrible place to leave off! Short, I know, but I haven't figured out yet just **_**how**_** the team will stop the Baddie. If ya'll have any suggestions, you can just let me know when you **_**REVIEW!**_

_**A/N 2 - **_**Just want to take a moment to say THANK YOU!…to all the new reviewers, alerters, and favoriters. I tried to get a PM to thank each of you, but if I forgot, I want to tell you how much your reading and responding (reviewing, alerting, and favoriting) means to me. I truly am grateful for each and every one of you - you make my day!**

_**A/N 3 - **_**NCIS, its' production company, CBS, and any affiliates thereof, only **_**WISH**_** I had a stake in them! That's right, they're all just **_**begging**_** me to take money for my fan fiction, but I keep telling 'em "**_**thanks, but no thanks, guys!"**_** Whoops, there's another phonecall now…they just won't leave me alone! Thank God for Caller ID!**_** ; j (smirk!) **_

_**R E V I E W ! ! ! !**_

_**(PLEASE!)**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**Chapter 20**_

'_Yeah,' Tony promised Abby, 'we'll get him.'_

Gibbs was still in front of Tony, hands on the young agent's shoulders. "You with me now?" he asked. When Tony nodded, he asked, "you sure?"

"I'm sure. OW!" Tony rubbed the back of his head. He certainly hadn't been expecting that Gibbs-Slap! "What was _**that**_ for?" he complained.

"To get your head back in the game," Gibbs said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's the plan? How're you going to get her back?" He rolled his eyes - he could see the wheels in Tony's brain struggling with everything that happened in the last few minutes. "_**You're**_ lead agent, DiNozzo. So…._**lead.**_"

It took a minute for Tony to grasp what Gibbs was saying - Gibbs wasn't taking lead on this one…'Gibbs isn't taking lead on this one,' he kept telling himself. 'So that means…_**I'm **_still lead agent. Plan, plan, need a plan….we could…no, too messy….oh, maybe like in that movie _Bourne Identity, _where…'

"'_**EY! DiNozzo!"**_ Gibbs yelled, snapping Tony out of his musings. "Daydream _**after**_ we get Abby back!"

Tony jumped up from his seat, the adrenaline surging through his body, spurring him into action. "Right!" he yelled, plans forming in his head. "Ziva!" he said, spinning to look at the Israeli. "You and Lee take the airport, on the off-chance she makes it for her flight. Do _**not**_ let her get on that plane, and keep an eye out for Bensonhurst. I don't think he's dumb enough to try anything in such a public place, but you never know. And Ziva," he said quietly as the young woman picked up her gear, "however you have to take him down," he ordered softly, letting her know that she had free reign to do whatever she had to, to apprehend the suspect.

Ziva stood with her backpack on her shoulder, looking at Tony for a moment. She walked up to him and put a hand on his arm. "We will get her back, Tony," she murmured, then turned and left the bullpen followed by Agent Lee. It had never occurred to Ziva, this time, to look to Gibbs for direction, she just blindly did as Tony had asked.

Watching for a moment as Ziva and Lee left, Tony finally felt accepted as leader. He sniffed away the moisture building in his eyes. He turned to Fornell. "You want in?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Damned straight," stated the FBI agent. "I want this creep just as much as you do. FBI needs to save face," he joked lightly.

Looking to Gibbs, Tony asked, "You workin'?" He smiled as Gibbs raised an eyebrow and gave him that look that said, '_ya' think, DiNozzo?'_ "Well, I didn't want to speak for you, ya know, you being soft and all from all that meditation on the beach… _**Right!"**_ he said, as Gibbs gave him the stare that said '_don't push your luck - I can still kick your ass.' _"Ok, then. You and Fornell - Abby's apartment. If she's not there, I want everything by the book - bag and tag, sketch, photos…." He stopped as the two older gentlemen both gave him the stare that said '_do you __**really**__ think you need to tell __**us**__ what to do?' _"And I don't need to tell you what to do, you _**know**_ what to do, you've been doing this for years….not that I'm saying you're _**old **_or anything," he rushed on, "Just that you've been on the job for a long time…._** Right**_, shutting up now, boss." With a sigh - he'd almost stuck his foot in it this time! - he watched Gibbs and Fornell head for the elevator. He glanced around, and returned the small smile Jenny gave him.

"I'll co-ordinate up in MTAC," the director said, and walked up the stairs.

"McGee, you're staying here…." Tony began, but got interrupted by his angry SIC.

Tim was almost fuming. Tony was leaving him out of the investigation! "Are you _**that**_ pissed at me, that you won't send me out in the field to help find Abby?" he growled. "I can't believe that you would risk Abby's life, just because I didn't always listen to your orders…."

"Tim," Tony said calmly, looking the man in the eye so he would know that he meant everything he was about to say. "I need you _**here.**_ I need phone traces, Abby's and Bensonhurst's. I want you to pull up every traffic cam, every building camera, within a square mile around Abby's apartment, looking for _**her**_ car or Bensonhurst's. Pull financials on this guy, see if he owns any property, somewhere he might hide with Abby. I want to know _**everything**_ there is to know about this guy, from the day he was born to what he had for breakfast this morning." Tony sincerely hoped he was getting through to Tim. "You're the best at the computer stuff, _**that's**_ why I kept you back." He swallowed, knowing that things had been rocky between he and Tim since Gibbs left, especially lately. "You're the only one I trust to be able to get me all that information, McGee," he muttered seriously.

Tim was shocked. Even after the horrible way he'd treated Tony, here the man was, telling him honestly - and Tim _**believed**_ it was honestly - how much he trusted him in such an important situation. He cleared his throat, feeling like a heel. Looking up at Tony, Tim said, "On it….boss."

With a small smile, Tony clapped Tim on the arm softly. "Route it up to the director in MTAC, too," he said, walking over to his desk and picking up his gear. "Send directions to Bensonhurst's address to my phone. I'll start there." He headed for the elevator. "I'm going to have everyone report back to you, McGee, so no internet porn while I'm gone!" he called over his shoulder happily.

McGee rolled his eyes and sat at his desk, bringing up Bensonhurst's home address and sending it to Tony's phone. Once he was sure it was sent, he began typing furiously, determined to get everything Tony asked for as quickly as possible.

_**A/N - **_**Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I'm still trying to think how Abby will be rescued (yes, by Tony, and yes, in very dramatic way….I just don't know what that way **_**is**_**, yet.) I'll happily and appreciatively entertain any ideas you all might have! **

_**A/N 2 - **_****Insert shameless begging for reviews here****

_**DISCLAIMER:**_** I own no part of NCIS, CBS, Belisarius Productions, and/or any affiliates thereof. I receive neither monetary nor other forms of compensation for this fan fiction. But would gladly accept, if any of those entities should feel like giving me some! **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: HERE'S THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF MONSTERS. BIG THANK YOU'S TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED SO FAR, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE JUST DISCOVERING THE STORY NOW. I'M GLAD YOU'RE ALL ALONG FOR THE RIDE! NOW, I NEED ALL Y'ALL'S HELP. TONY IS ON THE WAY TO RESCUE ABBY. IT'S GOING TO BE BIG, FLASHY, OVER THE TOP. BUT I DON'T KNOW **_**HOW**_** YET. I'D LIKE TO GET SOME IDEAS AND FEEDBACK FROM **_**YOU**_**, MY MOST AWESOMEST READERS. HOW, WHERE, WITH WHAT, DOES BENSONHURST GET KILLED OR JUST MAIMED AND SENT TO JAIL, DOES TONY ALMOST GIVE HIS OWN LIFE IN RESCUING ABBY? YOU CAN SEE MY PROBLEM! SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL WHAT YOU THINK SHOULD HAPPEN. IF I USE A VERSION OF YOUR IDEA, I'LL WORK YOUR NAME INTO THE STORY!**

**AND REMEMBER, MY DARLINGS - **_**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW**__**! **_**REVIEWS ARE LIKE A BIG HUG ON A BAD DAY, SO **_**PLEASE**_** LEAVE ME A LITTLE SUMTHIN'! THANK YOU!**

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**Chapter 21**_

As much as he wanted to drive like a combination of Ziva and Gibbs mixed together, Tony forced himself to follow the speed limits and traffic laws. He knew he couldn't allow himself to lose control - bringing emotions into an investigation just made things sloppy. So he just breathed deep and made himself ease up on the gas pedal when he saw he was going almost 20 MPH over the speed limit. If he could control himself driving, it was the first step to being in control when he arrived at Bensonhurst's McMansion.

He answered the phone using the hands-free mode. "Whaddya got, McGee?"

"Just heard from Ziva and Lee at the airport. Abby hasn't checked in yet, either in person or electronically," Tim said, continuing to type as he talked. "They've got airport security on alert for both Abby and Bensonhurst. I told Ziva to stay there until Abby's flight actually leaves, just to make sure they don't miss her."

Tony smiled at his SFA. He might make a real senior agent out of him yet! "Good call, McGee."

"Nothing yet from bo…Gibbs and Fornell. And no change in the trace on Abby's phone, still located at her apartment."

He'd expected that. "Anything on Bensonhurst's phone yet?"

The frustration was evident in Tim's voice. "No. He must have it turned off. Still running traffic cams around Abby's apartment, nothing new since she got home last night."

Tony sighed. He'd hoped for something more by now. "Good work, McGee, keep…"

"I'll keep running it until we've got something, boss," Tim said, finishing Tony's sentence (just as they'd all done with Gibbs) and hanging up.

With a smile, Tony hit the 'end' button on the phone and sighed. His little probie had grown up. Seeing his exit off the freeway, he changed lanes and left the highway. Following busy side streets, the houses began to get larger and more opulent, the neighborhoods cleaner and quieter. He began to feel more and more like he was stepping back into his childhood. The big house, the pool, the perfectly manicured lawn, servants at beck and call, the latest toys and electronics to play with. Damn, but he'd hated his childhood. Which only served to make him hate Bensonhurst more, for reminding Tony of all that.

For a moment, Tony let his mind picture Abby in a grand house like this, as lady of the manor, hosting teas and chairing nonsense-type committees. With a grin he shook his head. SO not his gothic princess! She'd find the size of the house ridiculous - could hear her asking 'who needs this many rooms?' And forget the first time a maid tried to do something for her! He'd get an hour-long lecture about servitude being a thing of the past, and slavery was just wrong. As for the teas and committees? Well, they'd certainly be interesting with Abby in charge!

No, his Abby was a simpler girl. She liked to live comfortably, as stress-free as possible. She didn't have time for fripperies and 'extras.' And she'd never live so largely while there were others in greater need. Just one more reason he loved her - her big heart.

The Charger's GPS announced that he'd arrived at his destination. Glancing around, he didn't see any cars in the driveway or any sign of anyone being home, so Tony pulled into the driveway. He walked up the steps to the front door and knocked, giving the customary "NCIS! We need to ask you some questions!" When there was no answer, he knocked again. Then rang the doorbell. Ascertaining no one was home, Tony pulled out his lock picking tools and set about opening the door , and was inside in less than a minute. Palming his gun, he began to search the house room by room., weapon at the ready.

_**********************NCIS**********************_

Having cleared several rooms, Tony was reasonably sure he was alone in the house, so he re-holstered his gun. With his moneyed eye, he could pick out a few genuine, expensive, investment-type pieces - a painting here, a secretary there. But just about all the furnishings were low-end knock-offs. Just pretending to be expensive. Like Bensonhurst himself. His already low opinion of the prick just got a notch lower.

Tony finished searching the downstairs rooms and headed up the (faux) marble staircase. The bedroom is always the most telling of any room in the house. It's the one room where pretenses and facades are dropped, where people become the most relaxed, the most personal. You want to know all about someone, just look in their bedroom.

Bensonhurst's home office and den were as phony as the rest of the house. Although, Tony _**did**_ admire the large, flat screen plasma TV and entertainment center. Sweet setup! Just because it's his nature to be nosey, Tony pressed **PLAY **on the DVD player to see what Bensonhurst last watched.

The grunts and moans told Tony it was porn before he even saw it. From the looks of it, homemade porn. The young looking woman started crying, asking the stud to stop, saying "no", that he was hurting her. Shit. Rape porn. He quickly shut it off, sick to his stomach. As he left the den, he took a last look back at the oversized entertainment center. Where just moments ago, he'd been thinking how awesome something like that would be for his James Bond and Magnum, P.I. marathons - and _yes_, the occasional porno - he now saw it as disgusting.

Only one door left in the long hallway - has to be the bedroom. He stood in the doorway for a moment, getting the lay of the land. While not OCD-ly neat, neither was it a total mess. Unmade bed - deep burgundy silk (_**faux**_, Tony found out when he touched them) sheets, faux dark mahogany bed set. Same for the side tables and bureau.

Opening and rifling through the bureau drawers, Tony saw that _here_ was where Bensonhurst spent all his money - his clothes, right down to his jockeys.

With a snort of disgust (ok, he admitted, he was pissed that he hadn't found anything) Tony made his way to the door that could only lead to the closet. When he swung the door open, it was like angels began singing The Hallelujah Chorus. This was not just **ANY** closet, folks. This was the mother of all walk-in closets.

He was like a kid seeing the FAO Schwartz Christmas Toy Display for the first time. Tony slowly crossed the threshold, almost afraid an alarm of some sort would go off. For the first time in his life, Anthony D. DiNozzo, Jr. drooled over another guy's closet.

Suits lined the left-hand wall - the _**entire**_ left-hand wall - categorized by designer first, then by color, with two or three choices of ties hanging from the hanger. Down below were cubbies with coordinating shoes - again, by designer first, then color. The entire right-hand wall was all casual wear. If you considered silk T-shirts and $250 jeans casual. Everything hung neatly, nothing hanging off hangers, no buttons undone or zippers unzipped.

In the far left corner was an overstuffed black leather chair and end table. The other corner had an end table which held a jewelry armoire. Tony almost had an asthma attack to see that all the jewelry - tie clips, cufflinks, the occasional manly ring - were fakes. They seemed so out of place amongst all this extravagance.

As he moved some hangers around on the "suit wall," he heard a different-sounding thunk as the arm bumped the wall. Pushing suits away to both sides, Tony began knocking on the wall, giving himself a mental pat on the back when he found that same hollow-sounding thump. Kicking aside the shoe cubbies, he began tapping and pushing on the wall. _**YES!**_ There it was - an almost invisible seam in the wall. It had a slight give to it but wouldn't open - there must be a hidden button somewhere. He took a few minutes to look around the closet. Nothing triggered the hidden door.

Coming back to stand in front of the door, Tony considered his options, and decided on one. What the hell, Trust Fund Thad was going to be in jail anyway, so he couldn't complain. Holding his gun at the ready just in case, Tony brought his left leg up and kicked the door as hard as he could, popping it open.

He scanned for threats first, and seeing none, he put his gun away and started looking around the secret room. He was stunned and disgusted at the same time. More than one entire wall was covered with pictures of Abby. It was more than obvious that this guy had been following her for a long time. There were pictures of her with the team, even Gibbs. Pictures of her bowling with the nuns, of her with other guys. Pictures of her in her apartment - cooking, watching movies,…..dressing in her bedroom,…..showering. Bensonhurst had been in the room as she'd showered! And Abby had no clue.

There were other pictures of Abby with some guy…doing…_**stuff.**_ Wait, that was Bensonhurst. And she's crying in this one….and this one…..something about this particular set of pictures looked vaguely familiar, but Tony couldn't figure out why.

He was having a hard time keeping his lunch down, so Tony decided to get someone else over here to document all this. Who on his team wouldn't lose it…. Tim - too close to Abby. Lee - too Probie to trust with this. Gibbs? - Sure, he'd be composed _**now**_, but if he ever met up with Bensonhurst…..looks like it falls to Ziva.

As Tony dialed Tim, he walked over to look at the "shrines" on the other walls…..these were different girls. And most of them _**were**_ just girls….no more than 18 or 19 years old…..all with the same variety of pictures as Abby's. He studied the pictures, counted at least six other girls. _**Damn it! **_Bensonhurst is a serial rapist!

"Yeah, bo…" McGee answered the phone.

"McGee!" Tony interrupted. "Have Lee stay at the airport. Get Ziva over here to Bensonhurst's. _**NOW**_."

"Problem, boss?"

"If you call at least six more victims a problem. I'm sending pictures from my phone - try and get I.D. Check Metro's rape logs for rapes…similar to Abby's. And get Ziva here _**yesterday**_, Probie." Tony hung up and took pictures of the other girls with his phone and sent them to McGee's email. Hopefully they'd find all these women safe and sound.

Unable to be in that room any longer, Tony walked out, leaving the door open. Crossing into the bedroom, he stopped, gaze on the bed. De ja vu…..why does this look familiar…..scanning the scene quickly, he got a sinking feeling in his gut. He strode back to the secret room. Sure enough…..there's Abby lying on that bed….there's the other girls on that bed…..

Back in the bedroom, Tony searched around the doorway for the camera. He found it in the crown moulding, up near the ceiling. Going on instinct, he continued to look around the room and found three more cameras - one on each wall - all trained on the bed.

His gut churning, he made his way back down the hall to the den. His phone rang - McGee. "Gimme good news, McGee."

"Well, don't know how good it is. Just heard from Gibbs. He and Fornell found…."

"Pinhole cams all over Abby's apartment. What else ya' got? Anything on any of those other girls?"

"No facial recognition in our database. Want me to share with Metro?"

Tony sighed as he walked to the entertainment center. "Yeah. And if they give you any trouble, hand 'em off to Director Shepherd. Don't waste time on it."

"Got it," Tim answered confidently. "One more thing. Gibbs…"

Tony heard the front door bang open and Gibbs call his name. "….Is on his way over here. Thanks, McGee. Good work." He clicked the phone shut. "Up here, boss!" he called as he looked through stacks of homemade DVDs, finding the ones he'd hoped he _**wouldn't**_ find. Taking out the disc already in the player, he replaced it with one of the ones he'd found. And then there was Abby, on her knees in front of Bensonhurst, the creep's hands wrapped in her ponytails, holding her mouth as far down on his cock as she could get. She started struggling for breath but he wouldn't let her up, telling her that girls like her were good for only one thing. When the bastard finally let her up for air, Abby struck back, kneeing him in the erect family jewels. As she tried to dress quickly, Bensonhurst came up behind her, picked her up and threw her onto the bed, climbing on top of her, his knees on her shoulders. Abby was trapped. And screaming in anger, in pain. In fear. And Bensonhurst was just getting off on all of it. He flipped Abby onto her stomach and roughly rammed into her body, laughing as she cried out in pain.

"This your idea of investigating, DiNozzo? Checking out the guy's porno collection?" Gibbs growled sarcastically from the doorway.

Tony stalked to the door without a word. As he passed Gibbs and Fornell, he slapped the DVDs to Gibbs' chest, and continued out the door and down the hall without a word.

Fornell watched Tony walk downstairs as Gibbs looked down at the DVD covers. They both had just one word written on them. **ABBY.**

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I receive no monetary benefits for this fan fiction from anyone even remotely associated with NCIS, CBS, Belisarius Productions, etc., and I have no claim on any of the entities listed above. Not for lack for lack of trying, tho'! heh heh!**

**(That's the REVIEW button, right down there…)**


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N**__**-**_** Boy howdy, this is a long one! Sit back and enjoy the ride! And if I don't get 10 (ten, X, a dime, a Hamilton, a Roosevelt, deis, tio, tien, zehn, ti, decem) REVIEWS… well, then you all shall NEVER find out how Abby gets rescued, and if she and Tony get back together, and if Gibbs stays for good this time. So NYAAAAHHHHHHH (;P).**

_**A/N 2- **_**Still own nothing, get nothing, from anyone or anything having to do with NCIS and it's subsidiaries. **

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

**Chapter 22**

Abby woke slowly, cold being the first thing to register in her brain. She was cold. Eyes still closed, she sighed, wondering how she could be cold in her apartment. Did someone leave a window open? As she continued to wake further, she stretched….rather, _**tried**_ to stretch. Why couldn't she move her arms?

Opening her eyes slowly, Abby was momentarily confused. This wasn't her apartment….why wasn't she in her own apartment? Looking down, she saw that her hands were tied together at the wrists with a clear, plastic zip tie. The kind police use instead of handcuffs. She tried to tug her arms anyway, but that thin piece of plastic was strong stuff. Just to tell herself she'd tried to escape, she bit at the restraint, but got nowhere - not that she really expected to.

As the adrenaline began rushing through her blood, she became more alert and started looking around to see where she was. It was dark, the only light coming from a dust-covered window several feet from the ground. There was an odd smell to the room….kind of musty and mildewy. A basement of some kind? The walls and floor were smooth and cold - felt like cement. There was no sound, except for an occasional rustle from somewhere further in the room. Abby didn't even want to think about what scurrying creature that sound could be! She rested her head back against the wall, taking a break in her observation to think how she got here. The last thing she remembered was closing the final suitcase she'd packed for Vegas. She'd called a cab to take her to the airport, then hid her cell phone so she wouldn't be distracted - she knew Tim and Ziva would keep calling, trying to talk her out of going, and she'd been afraid she'd be tempted to listen to them. She was taking that last suitcase to the door with the other three when the buzzer from the lobby rang. She pressed the button to open the lobby door, telling the cabbie to come on up. As she took one last look around, making sure she didn't forget anything important, there was a knock on her door. She opened the door, asking the cabbie to carry a couple suitcases down to the car for her…that was the last thing she remembered.

Well, whatever happened, at least the cabbie was a witness and can tell the local LEOs what happened. She scrunched her nose in thought. Wait…did she even _**see**_ the cabbie? She must have - she'd opened the door. It _**had **_to have been the cabbie, who else could it have been? Her friends all had the code for the downstairs door, so it wasn't any of them. With a moan, Abby suddenly discovered she had quite a headache. Ok, so she'd lay off the heavy thinking for a while. "Why can't I remember?" she asked aloud to herself.

"Hello?"

Abby jumped at the sound of another voice. Did she imagine it?

"Hello? Is someone there?"

It was a young-sounding female voice, like a little girl, and it shook with fear.

"Hello?" the voice came again, desperate-sounding, like she'd been crying. "Please, is anyone there? Ple-he-he-he-hease?" she cried.

"My name's Abby," Abby called across the room.

A hiccup answered her. "Hi Abby. I…I'm Casey."

"Hi Casey. It's real dark over where I am…. Can you move a bit again, so I can figure out where you are?"

There was a scuffling and shifting. "Can you see me yet?" Casey called.

Abby squinted into the dark, toward where she thought the noise was coming from. "Not quite, but I have an idea where you are now." If someone else was here, maybe _**she**_ knew what was going on or where they were. "What's going on? Where are we?"

Casey sobbed again. "I don't know. I was walking home from school, stopped to talk to a friend, next thing I know I'm waking up here."

School. Abby'd thought she sounded young. "How old _**are**_ you, Casey?"

A sniffle. "Fifteen."

"Do you remember what day it was when you were brought here?" She thought maybe someone would be missing the girl and have started a search for her.

"Ummm, it was a Thursday. The 20th. What's today?"

Abby sighed. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out before waking up here. "Well, the last day I remember was Wednesday. That would have been the 26th. I was in my apartment, packing for a trip. Well, a permanent trip - I'm moving to Las Vegas."

"So I've been here about a week?" Casey asked, sounding very much like a little girl. "Someone's gotta be looking for me, right?"

"Of _**course**_ they are, Casey! I bet they're plastering the city with pictures of you on missing posters. Someone will recognize you, and pretty soon the police will be walking you out of here," Abby promised.

"What about _**you**_, Abby? Your family must be looking for you, too…."

Abby grimaced. "The only family I have is a brother in Louisiana and the team I work with. My brother doesn't even know I'm moving to Vegas, so he doesn't know I'm missing. And the people from work….. Well, I kind of sprung the news of my leaving through an email. Haven't spoken to any of them since I made my decision to go." She sighed and tried to get comfortable on the hard floor. "Heck, they probably think I'm already on the plane." She tried looking at her watch again, but even though her eyes had adjusted to the dark, it was still just dark enough that she couldn't read it.

"You sound sad when you talk about moving. Don't you want to go?"

Abby pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. "It's a long story, kid," she sighed.

Casey snorted. "I think we've got time, Abby," she joked.

Chuckling, Abby agreed. "Well, it all started a couple of months ago, after Gibbs came out of his coma thinking it was 1991, got his memory back, then quit NCIS - that's where I work, NCIS, that's Naval Criminal Investigative Service, I'm the forensic specialist, anyway, Gibbs - he's the boss of the MCRT, he quit and went to Mexico…"

_*********************NCIS**********NCIS**********************_

Tony was pacing in front of the house, on the phone with McGee, when Ziva pulled up. "McGee told me about the cameras all over Abby's apartment…."

Tony growled. "They're all over this house, too. Especially the bedroom." He wanted to hit something. Or someone. "Bedroom's upstairs, last door down the hall to the left. There's a hidden room in the walk-in closet, pictures of Abby and some other girls. See if you can find any physical evidence that any of those other girls were in that bedroom. We'll need it to back up the video evidence."

Ziva was shocked. "He taped them?"

"With him in his bedroom. He has the videos in the den, where he can watch them on his widescreen, huge, plasma TV."

Judging from the look on Tony's face, Ziva figured that there were videos of Abby there, also. "I will leave no rock unturned. We will nail this guy, Tony."

Tony almost smiled. "It's _**stone**_, Ziva. Leave no _**stone**_ unturned."

"Are a stone and a rock not the same thing? What is the difference between the two?"

With a gentle push, Tony sent Ziva towards the house with a full smile. "Tell you what - stones and rocks are too big. Leave no _**pebble**_ unturned, ok?"

"On it," Ziva said over her shoulder. "Boss."

Tony just stared after her, shocked yet pleased. She'd called him "boss." He went back to discussing with McGee on the phone other properties the Bensonhurst family owned.

_*********************NCIS**********NCIS**********************_

"…..and then my ex-boyfriend, Thad Bensonhurst III - should've known he was an asshole just from his name, 'the Third,' like it makes him special or something - kidnapped me, and beat me so bad I ended up in the hospital for a week…" Abby heard Casey gasp from across the room.

"Who?" the girl asked nervously.

"Oh, he's just this creep I made the mistake of going out with….."

"What's his name again?" Casey's voice trembled.

"Thad Bensonhurst….why?" The only response Abby got to her question was soft crying, "No," she demanded. "No, no, no, no, no. Oh, Casey, no….." She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"He…he'd been hanging around at this coffee bar my friends and I go to all the time. (sniffle) One day he just joined in a conversation we were having. He kept staring at me….when I asked what his problem was, he apologized. Said he was a photographer working on a coffee table book about the alternative scene, said I'd be perfect for it, maybe even on the cover."

"Oh Casey, _**please**_ tell me you didn't fall for that," Abby prayed.

The teen scoffed. "I may be young, but I ain't stupid. Told him what he could do with his coffee table book. He apologized again, for the way it sounded, and if it made me feel better, my friends could be in the shots too, but I'd be center-stage. So we started thinking he was ok - he wasn't pushing to get me alone, encouraged my friends to be in the pics, we could even do it there at the coffee bar. (sniffle, hiccup) While we thought about it, he said 'how about a few test shots right now,' and he'd show 'em to us the next time he was there. It was when he offered us 50 bucks each if we did the pics for the book that we agreed." Casey moaned, "we were so _**stupid! **_he took 20, 25 shots with all different kinds of lenses and stuff….he wanted us looking all bad-ass and angry. (hiccup) It was kind of fun….at first." She put her head on her drawn-up knees.

Abby winced. "And then?"

Casey wiped her eyes and nose on her shirtsleeve for lack of a tissue and sighed. "We saw him again about two weeks later. He brought out this binder full of our pictures, and I gotta' admit, we looked good. To _**us**_, anyway. We were all impressed. There were effects and everything, they looked really professional. And I was center-stage in every one, just like he'd said. (sniffle) He said that he wanted to show that goth and alternative can be beautiful, and that he could do a book just on me." She laughed at her naïveté through the tears. "I still thought he was weird, but….what he'd said….he made me feel…." she struggled to find the words. "I haven't….(sigh) no one's called me beautiful in a long time, and….." she broke down into heavy sobs.

"He hurt you, didn't he," Abby asked quietly, and took the soft moan as a 'yes.' "Did he…did he…force…you to do things?" she asked hesitantly, but the teen continued to cry.

The young girl sniffled and hiccupped as she tried to finish the story. "My friends had all split, then he pulls out this contract for me to sign. I said I wasn't signing _**anything**_, he'd never said anything about contracts or anything. When I wouldn't sign, he said that I owed him $1,000, because he'd made me a professional portfolio. I told him to stuff his professional portfolio, I'd never asked him to make me one, and he kept telling me I needed to pay him, I owed him. I finally got up to leave, and he followed me out…." She began to cry harder. " He said that if I wouldn't pay cash….there was another way I could pay." She was starting to sound like the hurt little girl she was. "He grabbed my arms and dragged me to his car…he pushed me into the back seat, and he followed me in… he made me…. Made me…he was in my mouth, he kept pushing deeper and deeper in…I couldn't breathe…h-h-h-he slapped me over and over, called me horrible, disgusting names….said whores like me were only good for one thing, being on our knees….. And then he…he…..he was…. I was a vrigin!" she squeaked. "I screamed and yelled for him to stop…..it hurt so much!" Casey was crying so hard she couldn't speak intelligibly anymore.

Abby cried right along with the young girl. Someone so young shouldn't have had to go through something horrendous. "Casey, please tell me you told someone about this? That you reported it?"

Casey sobbed, "I tried! I told my best friend, who told her mom, and she took me to the police station. Fat lot of good _**that**_ did," she snorted. "They basically told me to expect things like that to happen cuz of how I look, especially when I told them I'd taken a shower and thrown away the clothes I'd been wearing. That's when they decided that I was just trying to get money out of the guy, cuz he's supposedly some kind of millionaire or something." The girl paused, trying to catch her breath. "I told them I wasn't, but that's when they showed us the door."

Despite the situation, Abby's spunk came to life. "He won't get away with what he did, Casey, I _**promise.**_" She had her mean face on.

"You can't promise that, Abby," the teen sighed sadly. "The police didn't even believe me."

"The people I work with will believe you," Abby vowed. "They won't let his get away with this. Hell, when we get out of here, _**I **_won't let him get away with this. I'm a forensic scientist. I know _**thousands**_ of ways to kill him and not leave a single strand of DNA or any other evidence. One way or another, Thad Bensonhurst, III, _**will**_pay, Casey."

Just then, the door to the room squeaked open, pale light blanketing the room. "Ah, at last! Good to see you awake finally, Abby. I was beginning to think I'd used too much chloroform…"

From across the room, Casey screamed, and Abby cursed and her heart sank as she recognized the voice. Thad.

_*********************NCIS**********NCIS**********************_

_**NCIS, INTERROGATION ROOM 2**_

"….I don't know what you're talking about, Agent McGee. My son isn't some…some _**degenerate**_ that preys on women." Thad Bensonhurst II was being questioned about the whereabouts of his son. "My son didn't do any of the things you're accusing him of - he has no police record of any kind," he huffed.

McGee kept his stoic face on. "Only because you've covered it all up with your money."

Mr. Bensonhurst rolled his eyes. "There's nothing_** to**_ cover up! My son isn't this animal you're making him out to be! I don't know what you all have against him, but he's a hard-working kid, honest as the day is long. He wouldn't do the kinds of things you say he did."

McGee whipped open the folder in front of him and slapped down evidence photos of the pictures taken from the younger Bensonhurst's secret room. "Still think your son wouldn't do this kind of thing? We found these in a hidden room in a closet in your son's bedroom."

The older man scoffed. "These aren't real, you doctored them up."

Tim brought out the pictures of Abby that had been in the secret room, and then copies of the hospital photos. "Your son did this to her."

Bensonhurst barely glanced at the photos. "My son wouldn't do that."

"He did, sir. Too bad, too, because you won't be able to buy Abby off with your hush-money."

The senior Bensonhurst was starting to realize his son was on a sinking ship. "You got those pictures without a warrant," he said, full of himself at his knowledge of the law. "These will never be admitted as evidence in court," he smiled.

Tim smiled back just as smarmy. "This is the Navy, Mr. Bensonhurst. We do things a little differently."

"I don't care. You won't railroad my son," the man snarled. "These charges will never stick. Maybe you should be going after the little _**slut**_ in these pictures - money-grabbing whore!"

Tim saw red. "Let me rephrase, Mr. Bensonhurst," he said, his voice hard as steel. "If anything happens to our forensic specialist, it's not _**the law**_ your son will need protection from."

Bensonhurst II gasped. "Did you just threaten my son? I'll have your badge…."

The door to the interrogation room swung open and Director Shepherd walked in. "Is there a problem in here?"

"You're _**damned right**_ there's a problem!" Mr Bensonhurst burst out before McGee could say anything. "This agent just threatened my son with bodily harm!"

Jenny looked shocked. "Really? Did you do that, Agent McGee?"

Tim sat calmly in his seat. "Yes, Ma'am," he answered.

"_**See**_? He _**admits**_ it!"

"Gee," Jenny said, putting her hands in her pants pockets, "too bad there's no record of this meeting." She held up a hand when the older man sputtered. "You're just protecting your family, Mr. Bensonhurst."

"Yes!" the man yelled, glad _**some**_one understood. He never expected the fierce look on Director Shepherd's face.

"Well, so are _**we**_. Abby is family, and we'll do _**anything**_ to protect her." Jenny put one hand on the table and the other on the back of Bensonhurst's chair, trapping him in. Her voice lowered dangerously. "You may have money, Mr. Bensonhurst, but we've got the United States government. One word, and all your businesses, stocks, holdings, accounts, whatever - will be thoroughly scrutinized by the IRS. I can tie up your funds for years. Better yet, with one keystroke, Agent McGee here, can make all-l-l-l-ll-l-l- that money disappear without a trace. I'm sure there's more than one non-profit women's shelter in the country that would be _**thrilled**_ to suddenly have all that money in their operating accounts…"

Mr. Bensonhurst paused. He didn't think they could _**really**_ do all that…. Could they?

Jenny stayed hovered over Bensonhurst. "Agent McGee, what do you think? Which would hurt worse - having all that money but not being able to access any of it, or having it all just….disappear?"

McGee was kind of shocked…..was the Director _**serious**_? Would she _**really**_…..

"Agent McGee?"

"Uh, well," he stammered, "uh, the IRS can take years, so the punishment, so to speak, will go on and on…and on…and on. But on the other hand, it all just disappearing in one quick rip…..that's gonna' hurt. Especially when the creditors - not to mention the IRS - want to know where it all went."

Jenny smiled. "Apparently Mr. Bensonhurst doesn't believe we can really do what we promise." She looked up at Tim. "Agent McGee, take a look through Bensonhurst's financials, see which holding is the most lucrative….."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, and began typing on his laptop. "Looks like that would be the shipping company out of Maryland, Director." For good measure, he turned the laptop so Benson Hurst could see that they had really accessed his accounts so easily.

Jenny stood up and walked over next to where McGee sat. "Oooo, a shipping company," she smiled and looked at Mr. Bensonhurst with a Gibbs-Glare of her own. "Agent McGee, call the Coast Guard, have them detain all boats out of that port. Suspicion of drugs on board, being run out of the shipping offices."

Tim made the call - to Ziva in the Observation Room. "Put it on speaker, McGee." He did so.

"United States Coast Guard Training Center at Yorktown, this is Lt. Gibbs," came a crisp, sharp voice.

With a raised eyebrow and a smile at Mr. Bensonhurst, Jenny said, "Lt., this is Director Shepherd, NCIS. We have a situation that I believe falls under the purview of the Coast Guard rather than NCIS."

"What's the situation, Director? How can the Coast Guard help?"

"There's a shipping company out of Maryland - Bensonhurst industries….we have proof they're running drugs in their shipments out of port. We request immediate seizure of all ships in and out of that port. Shut it all down."

"You got it, Director. Let's talk jurisdiction."

"It's all yours, Lt. We've got our bad guy." She winked at Bensonhurst.

"Seizure warrants already being typed up, Director. Thanks for the heads-up."

"You're welcome, Lt. _**Gibbs**_." She hung up with a smile.

Bensonhurst's silence lasted only a second longer. "Ok! Ok! Call off the Coast Guard! I'll do whatever you want, just _**don't**_ shut down the business….those are good guys, they all have families….."

With a small smile, Jenny turned to McGee. "Agent McGee, Could you go call Lt. Gibbs back and rescind the S & S order (**A/N **_**- **_**Search and Seizure)**? And get someone to run video while you're there."

Tim smiled happily - _**it worked**_! "Yes, Director!" He got up, taking his laptop with him. Seconds later, the camera's red light came on.

Jenny sat down with a satisfied sigh. "Now, I believe you were going to tell us where your son goes to hide out for a few days…."


	23. Chapter 23

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

**CHAPTER 23**

Tony was pacing around the car outside of Bensonhurst's home, waiting for McGee to call with good news. The director and McGee were about to interrogate Bensonhurst II the last time Tony had talked to him. Tony hated waiting. Maybe that would be one of _his_ rules - '_do not allow your team leader to wait more than five minutes for information on a case.'_ Yeah. Yeah, he liked that rule. Ok, that's DiNozzo's Rule Number 1. Actually, that will be Rule 2, right after his _'Mess with Abby, mess with ME' _rule.

Tony looked up to see Gibbs and Fornell leaving the house. Now that Agent Shirreff's team had arrived to take over, they weren't needed here any longer. "You think that's a good idea?" he asked Gibbs, nodding to almost invisible bulge at the older man's waistband. "Removing evidence from a crime scene?"

Gibbs pulled out the DVD case with Abby's name on it. "You really want this logged into evidence? You know how Abby will feel, knowing people are watching this. She doesn't need that on top of everything else, DiNozzo." he tossed it onto the hood of the car. "You know what to do with it."

Sighing, Tony took the DVD and threw it in the backseat. "Yeah, yeah. It'll mysteriously appear in the evidence vault after the trial." He looked at Fornell. "If the FBI has no objection."

Fornell gave a small smile, assuring the agents that he was on their side in this. "DVD? What DVD? The FBI knows nothing about any DVD. Hell, we weren't even here."

Tony's phone rang before he could make a typical DiNozzo response. "Yeah, DiNozzo. Whaddya' got, McWaterboarder?" As he listened, his smile grew. "This is a big day for you, McGraduate. You have officially earned your - pause for dramatic effect - SFA Wings." Tony pretended to wipe away tears of joy. "I've never been so proud of you, Probie-No-More. You have done well, young Skywalker. Hang on, I've got Gibbs and Fornell here, let me put you on speaker." He hit the button on his phone and laid it on the hood of the car. "Ok, go ahead, McWizard. Tell them what you just told me."

"Uh…hi, bo…Gibbs. Uh, so the director and I had Bensonhurst II in interrogation. At first he was denying everything about his son, but after some….possibly illegal… hacking into his financial holdings, he spilled the beans. We've got a list of five or six places Bensonhurst III may hole up. Ziva and I are checking to see which are secluded enough to hide someone without any neighbors to interfere." There was a computer beeping noise. "Ok, got 3 possible, boss. What do you want to do?"

"Track cell….." Gibbs and Tony spoke together, then gave each other glaring looks. Gibbs unhappily conceded to Tony. He'd momentarily forgotten he was no longer 'boss.' He wanted to slug the knowing smile off Fornell's face.

Tony took back Boss Control. "Ok McGoogle, track TFT3's cell and GPS, see if they'll tell you where he's been recently, if there's any one place he's spent quite a bit of time at lately. That will give us a starting point."

They could hear the pride in McGee's voice when he told them, "Already did. According to his cell and GPS records, he's traveled almost exclusively between two of the locations in the last month." He gave them the locations.

"Setting up a rabbit hole in advance," muttered Fornell. No one disagreed with him.

"Records show he's visited both places in the last 6 hours. He must have turned his cell phone off, because we lost the signal about an hour ago, same for the GPS."

Tony had a map of the area spread out on the car hood, the possible locations circled in blue marker. One area was in the old shipping district - lots of old warehouses to check. The other was more centrally located, just on the outskirts of the city. Metropolitan enough for Bensonhurst, yet run down enough that he wouldn't be bothered by busybody neighbors.

"Ok, McGee, where was his cell located last, before you lost it?"

They heard rapid typing. "Give me one second to compare the cell and GPS records…..and…ok, boss….and Gibbs…..uh, they were both located in the old shipping district. You want me to send back-up out there? There's a lot of buildings to check…"

Tony was still in deep thought when Gibbs answered Tim. "Nah, Fornell and I will take it, we'll call if we need more people." The two older gentlemen headed for their car. But Tony's Gut was feeling hinky. Would the man really be stupid enough to broadcast his location like that? "Hey boss, I don't…." he never got his sentence finished before Gibbs was pealing out in a haze of burning rubber. 'Still your case, DiNozzo,' he reminded himself over and over, trying not to feel slighted by Gibbs' going off on his own, without waiting for instructions, like he was back at the helm. But his own Gut was telling him something was off. He didn't think Bensonhurst III was that dumb…..

"Boss?" McGee asked, waiting for direction. "Should I send Metro out to the docks to assist them?"

Tony sighed. "Yeah, just have 'em on site. Let 'em know there's two armed federal officers on scene."

"On it, boss," came the confident reply.

While Tony was poring over the map, trying to figure out what his Gut was trying to tell him, one of Bensonhurst's elderly neighbors came tottering over from her own McMansion. "Excuse me, young man, but are you a friend of Thaddie's?"

Doing his best not to snort, Tony turned on the charm. "Why yes ma'am, I am. He and I were supposed to hook up today, but, well, he's not home, so I was just trying to remember where he said to meet him." Bright, sparkly smile, designed to make women of all ages melt.

And this old woman was no different. She simpered and preened like a woman thirty years her junior. "Well, if you _do_ happen to find him, could you please tell him to return my car? He'd asked to borrow it for a couple of days, and I had no problem with that, but now my Princess needs to go to the vet - she swallowed the engagement ring my fourth husband gave me."

AH-HA! Here was what had been gnawing at his gut! "Princess, ma'am?" He looked toward her house, expecting to see a poodle or one of those fancy, little teacup-sized dogs. All he saw was this behemoth of a rottweiler. His jaw dropped.

"Yes, and I'm afraid the ring may get stuck inside her somewhere. It was quite large. Wilbur - my fourth husband - was rather generous in his gift-giving, you know."

Tony managed to get his head back around to the conversation. Boy, the dog had really thrown him for a loop. "So TF…._Thaddie_…borrowed your car? When was this again?"

The older woman thought, her bright-red lips scrunched up. "Oh, it was probably yesterday, said he'd need it for a few days, and I could borrow one of the ones in his garage if I needed to go anywhere." She patted her perfectly coiffed hair. "I did use the Lincoln to run to the Piggly-Wiggly last night, but Princess doesn't ride well when she's not used to the car, so I'd rather take her in our own car, you understand."

Smiling even bigger and brighter, Tony almost cheered. "Yes, I can certainly understand." He picked up his phone, ready to text the car's info to McGee. "So what kind of car we talking about here, ma'am?" He was expecting the typical rich, ol' lady car - a late model Caddy, a Lincoln - something on those lines.

"A cherry '68 black Shelby Cobra. She's still got all her original parts," the old lady preened.

Tony near-about had a heart attack. This sweet, little, grandmotherly ol' lady drove a SHELBY? He tried to catch his breath. "Ma'am, I'd like to apply to be husband number five," he semi-joked.

She waved him off with a laugh. "Oh, you wouldn't be number five, dear. You'd be lucky number seven!"

Seven? Tony was starting to feel faint. "Um, I don't suppose your Shelby, being right off the line, has any modern features, like a GPS or Lo-Jack system…."

The old lady looked at him as if he were daft. "Are you kidding? You name it, this baby has it. I'm not taking any chances with my pride and joy. I didn't take such good care of it all these years just to have it end up in some chop-shop somewhere." She almost fainted when the nice, young gentleman took her hand and kissed it.

Minutes later, Tony was in his car, headed for the highway, barking orders to McGee. "Where'm I going, McGee?"

"Ok, I found the Shelby's GPS. It's parked at the other location Bensonhurst was visiting this week. Been there…..just about three hours now."

Tony slammed his hands on the steering wheel. Three hours that creep had been alone with Abby, doing who knew what to her. "You and Ziva get there ASAP, and make sure you send the info to Gibbs, too. Meet you there."

"Tony, you should wait for….Tony….Tony? Tony!….Boss?" McGee looked at Ziva. "He hung up." Ziva began pulling various weapons out of drawers in her desk and placing them all over her body within easy reach. "Then we should get going, yes?" McGee watched Ziva load up in awe…he'd never seen someone carry so many weapons before. "Oh! Right, let's go. I'll call Gibbs and you call the director, let them know where we're going."

Ziva smiled. "And seeing that time is of the essence, I shall drive." McGee just closed his eyes and prayed they'd get there in one piece.

_*****************NCIS*****NCIS***NCIS*****NCIS*****************_

Like Casey, Abby wanted to scream when she heard that bastard's voice, but she was determined not to let him win. Not this time. "Kind of pathetic, the only way you can get a girl to go with you is if you drug her," Abby rasped. In the pale light, she saw his shadow move further into the room.

"Oh Abby, Abby, Abby," Thad said in a sing-song voice. "Fighter til the end, just like your look advertises. But not all like you are so tough….like little Casey here…."

Abby didn't need to hear the scream to know that Bensonhurst was touching the young girl. She was afraid if she said anything, he might take it out on the girl.

Thad smiled evilly as he ran a finger down the trembling girl's face, enjoying the look of terror in her eyes. "Yes, our little Casey surprised me, I must admit. Whoever would have thought someone so dark and slutty could still be a virgin?" He laughed. "That was a most pleasant surprise, Casey. I did so enjoy breaking you in - literally! And to think, you'll always remember me, your first."

Abby felt the tears running down her cheeks, wanting to wrap her arms around the whimpering girl. "Don't listen to him, Casey. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You'll forget all about him, I promise!"

Another evil chuckle from across the room. "Ohhh Abigail. Still in denial. You know you'll never forget me, never forget everything we did together."

A gasp and a small cry told Abby that Bensonhurst was touching Casey. "Leave her alone, Thad, or…."

"Or what, my dark mistress of the night? You'll hurt me?" Thad laughed again, running his hand over the girl's breasts over and over. "Kind of hard to do, seeing as you're as trussed up as a Thanksgiving turkey over there. I can do anything I want to sweet…little…Casey…." He grabbed and pinched her nipple hard, causing her to cry out. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

Abby struggled against the zip ties again, knowing it was fruitless, but needing to do something to help Casey. "I'll kill you, Thad. I promise. I will kill you in the most humiliating, painful way possible!" She didn't even notice the blood streaming down her arms where the bindings cut into her wrists.

"Uh-uh-uh, Abby. Don't go making promises you'll never be able to keep. I could kill the both of you, right here, right now, and never spend a day in jail because of who I am."

"Yeah, about that, Thad. Why don't you tell Casey where you were for a month or so, hm? No? Well then, I'll do the honors. You see, Casey, Thad spent a while in prison, under FBI custody." Abby smirked, enjoying rattling Thad's cage. "That's right, he was caught, like the mangy dog he is, by the FBI, no less. And he was in. Prison. They caught you once, Thad, they'll catch you again. That's a promise!"

A slap from across the room was the only response Abby got. "I'm sorry, Casey. So sorry that Abby is making me hurt you." Another slap.

Abby tilted her head back against the wall. Whatever she did, Thad would hurt Casey. She wouldn't hesitate if it were just herself, but she had to think of that young girl - she didn't deserve any of this. "I'm sorry, Casey."

Casey, lower lip now bleeding, trembled. "S'ok, Abby. I'm ok." She mewled in disgust when Thad leaned in and licked the blood off her chin.

"Leave her alone, you prick!" Abby sobbed when she heard ripping cloth, knowing what was going to happen next. "No! Don't touch her!" She struggled harder against her bindings. "I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you! Leave her alone!" She screamed, praying Thad would stop. "You're gonna' die! Leave her alone or he'll kill you!" She dropped her head to her bent knees when all she heard was a man's satisfied groan. Abby knew it was useless - nothing she said or did was going to stop Thad, not while she was still tied up. She pleaded and cried, so tired. So tired. "Please…..leave her alone? Please….Swear….kill you….Tony…kill you. He will. Tony…Tony will…kill you," she mumbled over and over. "Please…? Stop….please?"

With a smile, Thad released Casey's breasts, which were already beginning to bruise where he'd grabbed and pinched and twisted. He thought the teeth marks around the nipple were especially pretty. "Awww, Abby wants our fun to stop, little Casey. What do you think, should we stop? I think you'd miss this too much if I stopped now, don't you?" He pinched her nipple again, reveling in the raspy cry she gave. "But then, she did say please…several times…." He stood, adjusting the bulge in his jeans. "Dear Abigail. Never thought I'd hear you beg me for anything." He leant down and gave Casey a pain-filled, bruising kiss on the lips, enjoying her gasp of pain. "Don't go anywhere, sweet Casey, I'll be back," he said with a devilish smile. Thad sauntered over to Abby's corner. "Well, well. How the mighty have fallen. Begging, Abby? So beneath you, isn't it?"

Abby looked up at the despicable man, face smudged with black mascara. "Just leave her alone, Thad. She's just a little girl," she murmured. "Please…I'll do….anything you want. Just let her go. I'll do….anything."

Thad smiled nastily. "Anything I want, huh? And all I have to do is let that sweet, tasty, young thing go?" He laughed. "Ohhhhh Abby, what a sense of humor." He squatted down in front of her. "I'm sorry, Abby, but I can't let Casey go. Ya' see, I've discovered that I rather like younger girls…the younger, the better." He twirled one of her tattered braids around his finger. "And well, let's face it, Abby. You're no spring chick. I think if I were going to let anyone go, it would be you….you're a little too…old…for my tastes now." Thad's eyes danced with glee as Abby began began begging once again. He could get used to this Abby, the one willing to do anything he wanted. He cocked his head to the side, as if considering her request. "Mmmmm, nope, sorry, can't let the little one go." Abby began pleading anew. "But! Let me finish, let me finish." He patted her on the head like a dog when she quieted. "Good girl. I can't let her go. BUT….I _will_ leave her alone," he smiled at the relief in the Goth's eyes. "…as long as you do whatever I ask you to do." The spark of fear in her eyes excited him more. "Who's it going to be, Abigail? Who's the one who'll satisfy my every need? Sweet, tender, innocent Casey?" Thad grabbed her by the chin. "Or _you_?"

_*****************NCIS*****NCIS***NCIS*****NCIS*****************_

Tony slammed his hands against the steering wheel for what had to be the thousandth time. "C'mon, McGee! There's got to be a way around this mess! Get me out of here! That is a direct order from your team leader!"

"I'm trying, Tony," Tim said over the phone. "But the Parkway is backed up all the way to Rock Creek Park. You can get off at the next exit, but that's still a few miles down the road."

He hit the steering wheel again. "That bit about earning your SFA wings? I take it back! And you won't get them back until you get me _outta' here!_"

Tim sighed. "Look Tony, I'm stuck in the same mess you are. Only I think I have it a little worse than you do."

He heard Tony scoff over the phone. "How could you _possibly_ be worse off than I am?"

McGee risked a glance to his left, towards the driver's seat. "Ziva's driving." He gasped as she pulled up fast to the car in front of them and blared the car's horn. Tim was pretty sure that she was swearing in Hebrew. "And she's armed."

Tony considered McGee's situation. "You're right. You're worse off than I am." He slammed his hand down on his own car horn. "Just find me a way out of this, McMiracle Worker." He flipped his phone shut. He briefly considered turning his siren back on, to go with the flashing lights, but that hadn't worked last time - only added to the clamor of car horns and yelling. He'd noticed then that the only ones to obey the law about moving over for lights and sirens were those from out-of-state. He'd gained about ten feet that way, but in the grand scheme of things, it made little difference. He turned on the radio, hoping to find something to keep his mind off what might be happening to Abby right now. With a curse, he shut it off again. If it wasn't news about the logjam on the Parkway, it was an Android Lust or Plastic Death song. Which only made him think about Abby.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He let his mind drift to scenes with Abby - seeing who could walk the furthest without falling down after spinning around in the office chairs. Workplace tag - you can only tag someone if you're in their area legitimately, you can't go chasing after them. One of those games could last days….until Gibbs threatened them - well, _him_ - with bodily harm to end the game. 2 AM movie nights after a bad date. The sparkle in her eyes when she's cracked a case. Snuggling on someone's couch during movie night. Watching Abby sleep, curled up against him during movie night - and not feeling stupid doing so. The devastation in her eyes when Gibbs kissed her goodbye and walked out of their lives. Her battered and bruised body as she lay in that hospital bed…..

A blast from the horn of the car behind him jolted him back to the present. At last they were moving! He threw the car into drive and put the pedal to the metal! And moved five feet. With a sigh, he put the car back in park. Without realizing what he was doing, he began praying, begging really, that God keep Abby safe, just let him get to her in time, please get him off this packed highway so he can get to Abby.

As if someone had actually heard him, Tony saw that the cars that had been driving in the breakdown lane to his right, for some reason suddenly merged into the regular lanes of traffic. The breakdown lane was clear. No cars backed up. He paused, for one guilty moment. Then turned his blue lights and siren on again and flew down the now-empty lane. After about a mile and a half, he noticed another car with blue flashers following him and recognized McGee and Ziva.

For once, everything was working out for Anthony DiNozzo, Jr.

_****_

_**A/N: **_**Almost to the big rescue, folks! Big Hugs to those that reviewed - there's a special place in Heaven for you all. Even BIGGER Hug to Mandielouluvsewe (who writes really good stuff, too, BTW) for getting out there and soliciting reviews for me! Now THAT'S a friend! Thanks, Mandielou - it means the world to me! NOW, last chapter I begged shamelessly for 10 reviews and got just 7. SEVEN! C'mon, peeps, that's pathetic, even for ME! So this time, I'm going to beg and plead for a measly EIGHT reviews. The fate of Abby and Casey rests in YOUR hands! Will they ever escape that madman, TFT3? Send in a review, and find out!**

**A/N 2: I still have no claim on any part of NCIS, subsidiaries, network, production, etc. **

**SHAMELESS PLUG: Read Mandielouluvsewe's stories! 'Specially if you lust after Tony! **

**Please hit that new, little REVIEW button….he looks so sad there, all by himself…..**


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N: W**_**ell here it is, the chapter you've all been bothering me for - THE BIG RESCUE! I hope it gives you all the revenge you've been clamoring for! And now, on with the show!**

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

_**CHAPTER 24**_

**THE BIG RESCUE - PART ONE**

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, because she'd fallen asleep, but Casey jolted awake when the door opened again, afraid Thad was coming for _her_ now, even though he'd told Abby he wouldn't. When the man stopped by her corner, he dropped something heavy to the floor and left without a word. Uncovering her head, which she'd covered instinctively to ward off the blows, she looked at what the bastard had dropped by her feet. It was a bit dark, but she could make out a form, and began crying all over again. "Ohhhh Abby!" Some defense she'd been - she fell asleep while watching over Abby as she'd slept, and Casey never heard Thad come in and take Abby out.

She shuffled over to Abby as best she could, wincing as the cement floor scraped her knees. "I'm so sorry, Abby! Please be ok! C'mon, please wake up!" Casey gently shook the prone girl, hoping she didn't hurt her. She looked Abby over, but didn't see any fresh blood - it was all dried. But if he didn't hit her, why did he take her…? No…no, no, no. "Oh Abby! Why?" Casey sobbed, knowing why the bastard had taken her.

The door opened again, and Casey could hear something being wheeled in. She backed as far into the corner as she could get.

"Litt-le Casssss-eeeeeey!" Thad called in that sing-songy voice. "Awww, don't worry, little girl, I'll keep my word not to touch you…for now." He stood back and pushed in an older-looking TV. "Thought we could watch some videos together, the three of us," he said jovially, like this was a normal day. He planned on playing the two girls against each other, figured he could get anything he wanted from each of them when they'd volunteer themselves so the other wouldn't be hurt. Suh-weet set-up, TB3, if I do say so myself! "Now, do you want to see the video I showed Abby, or would you like to see a new one? You know what, never mind, let's just go with a new one, shall we?" he snickered as he plugged in the TV and DVD player. "I really hope you enjoy this, sweet Casey, it could become one of my favorites."

He put in the DVD and hit play. And then there was Abby on the screen, on her knees, crying, begging.

"Please…please! I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt Casey, please! She's just a little girl, please don't hurt her!"

All that could be seen of Thad was his naked back. "You'll do _anything_?" He grabbed Abby by the ponytails. "You'll do anything I want anyway, slut. Because I own you. If I tell you to suck my cock, you will. If I tell you to open for me, you will. Whatever I tell you to do, you'll do. If you can't do that, then maybe pretty, little Casey will. Up to you, Dear Abby. I. Own. You." He pulled her up by her hair. "Say it, bitch. Tell me who owns you."

Abby gasped at the pain, cheeks smeared with black, dark lipstick smudged around her mouth. "Please," she whispered, then cried out as Thad grabbed her with a hand on her jaw.

"Say. It. Who. Owns. You," he demanded

"Y-y-you do," she whimpered softly, screaming when he slapped her face.

"Can't hear you, whore. Louder. WHO OWNS YOU!"

Ashamed with herself, Abby closed her eyes and yelled, "You do! You do, you do, you do," she sobbed.

Thad loosened his hold on her hair, caressed her cheek. "See now, was that so hard, huh? That's a good little slut," he praised. "Now show me what a good slut you are…." he turned to the side, exposing his erect cock. "…and suck it." Abby continued to cry, but he didn't care. Just took her mouth over and over, thrusting so deep into her throat she had trouble breathing. "That's my good slut…yeah, suck that cock. What a hot little mouth….c'mon, take it….take it all…ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh. Atta' girl. Jussst…like…thattttt." His thrusts sped up, he knew he was going to come soon. He exploded down Abby's throat, and took great pleasure in hearing her choke and gag as she tried to breathe. He'd wanted to spray it all over her face, but no, he decided, this was so much better!

As Thad cleaned himself, Abby could be seen retching just off to the side, tears still streaming down her bruised cheeks. After zipping himself back into his pants, Thad leaned down and pulled her head up, so the camera could capture the look in her eyes. "Now, tell me. Who owns you?"

Abby continued to cry almost silently. "You…you do," she whined softly.

Thad tapped her on the cheek gently. "That's my good girl. Just remember that, and maybe tasty little Casey won't have to learn this lesson."

The video ended.

The little bitch's wails were beginning to get on his nerves. Thad ran a shaking hand through his hair. That was the problem with the young ones - they never stopped that blasted noise. To work out his frustration with the din, he picked up the pile of DVD cases and threw a few around the room, feeling a sense of satisfaction when he heard them hitting things. Walking over to the sobbing teen, Thad ran a finger around her plump, fresh lips, remembering what it was like to be between them. Her inexperience had only served to make him that much hotter. He snickered when the girl cringed away. "Pretty soon, little girl. Abby can't hold out forever….who'll protect you then, hmm?" He twisted a strand of her hair around a finger. "And I, for one, can't wait," he murmured, grabbing her by the jaw and giving her a bruising kiss.

Casey whimpered as the creep nipped at her lips. She knew his plan was to wear Abby out so she couldn't interfere when he came for Casey. And while she was fearful for herself, she didn't know if she could live with it if anything bad happened to her new friend. "Please…." she begged with a sob.

Thad cackled evilly. "Soon enough, little girl, soon enough," he sang and almost danced out of the room.

Wetting a paper towel with water from the bottle their captor had given her that morning, Casey gently washed off Abby's face, wincing every time her friend twitched in pain. "I'm so sorry, Abby," she whispered, "so sorry!"

A loud, sharp, steady beeping woke Abby. At least, she thought she was awake. Her head felt heavy, tired. Looking around, she noticed that after his little play session, Thad had dumped her on the floor with Casey. With a closer look at the teen, Abby saw how white she was. That bastard! If he did anything to that girl…. Her rage was interrupted by a fit of coughing, which only made her head hurt worse.

Dragging herself very slowly the few feet to Casey, Abby wondered why her whole body felt heavy. Doing the best she could, she gave the girl a look-over. There didn't seem to be any bruising or visible injury… yep, she had a pulse….kind of slow, though. She had to rest a minute - she was so tired…just….for…a….min….ute….._**BEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP!**_ Abby startled awake again, that incessant beep making her head throb. With leaden arms, she gave Casey a shake to wake her. Through her fuzzy mind, she vaguely noticed that the girl seemed to be having the same problem she did, that heavy, tired feeling. "Case….." she got out before she had another coughing fit. "C'mon, kiddo…..way-wake up, 'k?" She lethargically jostled Casey's leg. "Please? 'mon….. 'up, Cay-Case…y." Finally the young girl groaned and Abby sighed in relief - she was still alive. On that good note, she let herself drop back to sleep, even though a niggling voice in the back of her mind - her imaginary Gibbs - told her not to, to stay awake.

_**NCIS**********NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS**********NCIS**_

Tony brought his agency Charger to a screeching stop outside a gated block of warehouses, followed seconds later by another agency Charger carrying Ziva and McGee. Without a word, Tony stepped aside and let Ziva work her magic on the locked gate. In seconds it was opened and the trio got back into their cars and rushed in.

"Shouldn't we wait for Gibbs?"

Ziva and Tony both glared over at McGee for asking as they got out of the Chargers.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "I just thought the extra back-up would be nice…."

Tony shook his head as he scanned the area around them. Three empty buildings, and Abby could be in any one of them with that sad excuse of a man. "Gibbs and Fornell are on their way, but they're probably stuck in that jam on the Parkway like we were." He checked for dark corners - good hiding places. "Who knows how long it'll take them to get here. We need to get Abby out of there _now._"

"In that case," said Ziva, " the only question is, do we split up and each take a building, or go together? If we each take one, the searching will go much faster.'

"Meaning we find Abby faster," added McGee.

Tony's mind was racing, going through all the possibilities. He stopped thinking and pointed. "Let's try _that_ building first."

McGee and Ziva looked at each other and then at Tony. "Why start with that one?" questioned Ziva.

With a smug smile, he walked confidently towards the building. "And you call yourself trained agents…." Tony joked.

Slowly following him and still confused, Ziva and McGee checked the perimeter of the building they were approaching. With a shared groan, they saw what told Tony to go this way. "Bensonhurst's car," McGee said, looking at Ziva with a "how stupid are we?" look.

"Don't look at me, McGee," Ziva chuckled. "_You_ are senior field agent. You should have seen it first, yes?" She followed Tony with a smile.

Tim closed his eyes. "I was never this annoying to Tony as his Probie….." He ran and caught up with his teammates.

_**NCIS**********NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS**********NCIS**_

As she drifted in and out of consciousness, Abby tried to figure out what that loud beep was. Scanning the room with blurry eyes, she saw a small, flashing red light. Smoke detector? With a deep sniff - followed by a deep cough - she noticed there was no smell of smoke, nothing out of the ordinary. Then what….(yawn) was….huh? Was she thinking something? She couldn't remember. Oh yeah, Casey….. "Casey…." she gave a pathetic poke to the other girl's hip. She was relieved to hear the girl groan.

"A-aab-beeeeee?" came the slurred response. "Ti-red." Casey tried to turn over and face Abby but it just took too much effort. "Ti-tire-tired."

Abby sighed and lay back down, her head pillowed on Casey's back. "Mmmm hmmmm. Me. Too. Think. Some-something's wr-wrong. Shouldn't…shouldn't sleep. Migh' not way' up. 'K? Stay….'wake."

Casey yawned and curled her legs up to her chest. "M'k. Won' s'eep. Won'….." She drifted off.

But Abby never noticed, because she was already sleeping.

_**NCIS**********NCIS******NCIS******NCIS**********NCIS**_

After humoring McGee by checking the doors on the other two buildings - finding them all locked, earning McGee a head slap - the trio of agents stalked up the stairs of the remaining building with guns drawn. With a smug look at McGee, Tony turned the doorknob and pushed, as the door opened easily. They entered on guard. After clearing the immediate area, Tony handed out assignments. "Ziva, top floor. I'll do the second. Leaves you down here, Probie-Wan. Keep an eye for Gibbs, send him and Fornell up. And if any of you see Bensonhurst….."

"Torture him until he tells us where Abby is."

Tony shook his head. "I wasn't going to go quite that far, Ziva, but if he happens to…trip….bump into something…fall down the stairs….."

"We get it, Tony," Tim rolled his eyes.

"But leave the questioning to me. He and I have unfinished business. And the Director won't be around to stop me this time."

_**NCIS**********NCIS******NCIS******NCIS**********NCIS**_

Abby barely heard the sound of footsteps on the floor above them, but didn't pay them any mind. It was too tiring to think. Her brain was even telling her there was more than one person walking up there…..trick….brain tired….. She laid her head back down and slept again, her breathing becoming shallower with every breath, it seemed.

Three frustrated agents met back on the first floor. "Other than some footsteps on the dusty floor, there is no sign of anyone," a disgruntled Ziva complained.

Tony wouldn't believe that Abby wasn't nearby. His gut was on threat level orange. "We've got to be missing something. Bensonhurst's a fan of hidden rooms, there's got to be one here somewhere."

Tim and Ziva shared a look. "Maybe parking next to this building was a cover, and he really has Abby in one of the other buildings," Tim said. Ziva jumped to agree.

"It _is_ a possibility, Tony. McGee and I will each take one of the other warehouses, just to make sure she is not there."

But Tony wasn't listening. There was something…..something was niggling at his gut. She was here. Abby was somewhere in this building, and he was going to find her. "As your supervisor, I'm ordering you to look through this place again. We're missing something. We'll start at the top and work down. Every room, every corner, every nook and cranny checked. Let's go, people." He led his reluctant agents to the third floor.

And in the kitchen on the first floor, the red light on the carbon monoxide detector began to blip on and off, the shrill beep a mere chirp, easily missed in another room.

Having seen the cars in front of his hideout, Thad Bensonhurst entered the building by the basement door. He didn't know who was here - this was a family-owned lot, all the supply houses belonged to his father. But this meant he'd have to move his toys to another playroom, he thought with a giggle. Walking down the hall past other storage rooms, he began to move a little faster when he heard the high-pitched beep. What the…?

Opening the door to his guests' room, the beep got louder. Thad looked around but could see nothing amiss. Spotting the detector on the wall, he figured the smoke alert was malfunctioning. He didn't smell smoke or gas, so it had to be a malfunction. Or a dying battery. So he ignored it. He had more important things to worry about, like getting these two whores out of here without being seen. As he came around the corner, he was struck by the silence. One of them was usually whining or crying about something, so this was unusual. Passing the teen's stall, he saw both girls lying on the floor, unmoving. "Wakey-wakey, girls! We're going on a field trip!" Neither bitch moved so much as a muscle. What were they planning? Did they think they could get the jump on him? Stupid females. "This won't work, chickies, you can't pull one over on TB3."

He leaned over Abby and grabbed her arm. It was limp and cold. Turning her over, he noticed how pale her skin was, and in the waning light he saw a bluish tinge to her lips. He dropped he arm fast. Damn… was she dead? With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he reached over to the younger one and got the same result. Just as he was thinking he'd run, he heard a strangled gasp out of Abby. She still didn't wake. Ok, so getting them out would take a little longer than he'd planned. Dragging a limp-as-a-rag-doll Abby back to her side of the room, he zip-tied her wrists and ankles again - she'd be easier to carry if arms and legs weren't flapping all over the place. Then he returned to Casey and did the same.

Satisfied that neither slut was going anywhere or trying anything, he left the same way he'd come, to bring the car right up to the door. He made a quick, stealthy trip upstairs to turn on the security system. In 15 minutes, all the doors would automatically lock and seal. No one would be getting in or out, so he'd better hurry. He hurried back down to the basement and out the door.

"There it is again. I swear I just heard a door slam."

Tony and Ziva both rolled their eyes at McGee. He'd been so unenthusiastic as they searched the third and second floors. "It's probably just Gibbs and Fornell. Tell you what, McWorrywart, why don't you go down and fill them in."

Tim pouted. "Just said I heard something downstairs. Let's get this floor finished, ok?"

Ziva was checking a closet close to the window when she gasped. "I heard it, too!"

"Look, Wonder Twins, I know you're dying to search the other buildings…"

"No, Tony. I really heard a door. Muffled, like it's from a distance."

Tim smiled. "Thaaaank you, Ziva." He smirked at Tony, who just rolled his eyes.

"How old are you, four?" He stopped when there was a loud door slam from somewhere on the first floor. "Anyone else hear that door slam?" The three agents ran for the freight elevator.

When the elevator reached the first level, the agents ran out, headed toward what was probably a break room at one point in the building's history. "It came from this way!" Reaching the room, they could hear the pounding of footsteps running down stairs. They searched the room frantically for a door. As Ziva walked through what had been a pantry, she noticed a difference in the sound of her boot heels on the floor as she walked.

"In here!" She knelt as the men joined her. "It's in the floor!" They banged around the floor near Ziva and finally found the loose spot.

Tony and Ziva pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the door as Tim whipped it open. Prepared to shoot, they checked themselves when there was no one there, except a foot running out a doorway on the right. Ziva ran down the stairs without hesitation, gun at the ready. Tony followed, yelling instructions to McGee. "There must be another way out from the basement! Go head him off outside!"

"On it, boss!" Tim answered, already running for the front door.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he looked through the doorway Ziva and Bensonhurst had disappeared through and didn't see any sign of either. He wasn't worried - he knew Ziva was more than capable of taking Turd Bensonhurst down. That's when his gut flared up, so much so that he almost doubled over. Something down here was hinky. He decided to explore.

Gun at the ready, Tony methodically searched each corner and room in the basement. He had just reached the final door when he heard a high-pitched, steady, loud beeping noise. Some kind of smoke detector, but there was no smoke or other odor in the air. He entered the storage room and cringed at the loudness of the beeping. It didn't sound like any smoke alarm he'd ever heard, so he searched it out. Not a smoke detector - a CO2 alarm. Tony strained to see the number on the monitor and swore. He thought about skipping this room and getting out ASAP - the level of carbon monoxide was way too high, it was in the danger zone. A quick glance around showed it was a pretty small space compared to the others, so he decided to give it a quick check, just to be sure.

Tony hurried across the room, giving every stall a quick glance. He was at the last and gave it a scan and turned to go across to the other side when something made him stop and look again. There was something in a lump on the floor. Gun ready, he slowly made his way toward the lump. As he got closer, he realized it was a human form. With black pigtails.

ABBY!

Tucking away his gun, he ran over to where Abby lay, curled up on the floor. "ABBY! Abby, honey….. It's ok, it's me, baby… Abby?" Picking her shoulders up off the floor, he could feel how limp and cold she was. "No. no, no, no! No, Abbs! You don't have permission to die, you hear me?" he ordered nervously. He felt for and found a pulse that was slow and thready, and closed his eyes on a prayer. He grabbed his phone when it rang, seeing it was Tim. "Probie! Found Abbs! Get a bus! She's been exposed to high levels of CO2, she's unconscious. I'm bringing her out. Where's Bensonhurst?"

"Ziva is chasing after him across the lot. Gibbs and Fornell just pulled up."

"Good, send them after Ziva. You know what happens to suspects that run from her. And get that bus!" He tossed his phone aside and assessed Abby's situation. "Abbs? C'mon, baby girl, talk to me. Tell me what a bastard I am again…please wake up." Tony pulled out his knife and cut the ziptie around her ankles. Wincing at the bruising and deep gashes that told him this wasn't the first time she'd been bound this way. He was just about to cut the bindings on her wrists when she came around a bit.

"N-no…don't….no mmm-more."

Tony could have cried. She thought Bensonhurst had come back. "Shhhhh, s'ok, Abbs, it's Tony, baby girl. C'mon. Let me see those pretty green eyes. It's ok, Abby, it's me. I'm here, baby girl. Tim's here, Ziva. Even Gibbs…he came all the way from Mexico for you, sweets, so you'd better wake up." Her head lolled back.

"T-t-tony?" came a quiet voice. "'sreally y-you? Real-ly here? Mind play-ing tr-ricks…"

He kissed her cheeks, her forehead. "I'm really here, baby girl, and I'm gonna get you outta here, ok?" Tony cut the ziptie around her wrists and her arms fell limply to the side. He saw Abby shake her head. "Yeah, Abbs, you're getting outta' here right now, babe."

Abby wasn't sure this was really Tony - her mind had been playing tricks on her…. There was something…. She couldn't leave….. What…. "Cay-Case…"

"Don't worry about any case, ok? Let's get you well first, 'k?" Tony made to pick her up, but she shrugged him off.

Must keep clear mind. "Naw…naw a case…Case-Y. Take Casey. First. Jus'…she jus' a kid."

There was another girl down here? "Where is she, Abbs?" He patted her cheek to keep her talking. "Where is Casey?"

Abby couldn't focus her mind very well, but she managed to flop her hand towards the other side of the room, in what she hoped was Casey's general direction. "Jus' a kid….he hur-hurt her….bad." She groaned as Tony sat her up and slid her over to the wall so she'd stay sitting up.

"Sit tight, I'll go check on her, ok?" He ran across the room and easily found the girl. Damn, Abby was right, she _was_ just a kid. He found her pulse and found it slower and threadier than Abby's had been. She'd have to be the first out, she needed attention stat. He found his phone and called Tim. "McGee, I need a second bus! There's a young girl in here, worse shape than Abbs. She's going to need to be taken out first. Where are you?" He could hear his SFA breathing heavily.

"We…we lost him, Tony. He's still on the lot somewhere, but he got away from us."

"Screw Bensonhurst! I need you here to help with Abby and this girl. _Now_, McGee - I don't know how much longer this kid can hang on."

"On the way, boss. Fornell's with me. Gibbs is with Ziva tracking Bensonhurst."

"Just get here!" He hung up. Pulling out his knife once more, Tony cut the bindings on her wrists and ankles, noting the same bruises and gashes that Abby had had. His heart broke for this girl - a baby, really - knowing what TFT undoubtedly did to her. He carefully picked her up - afraid at how limp she was - and carried her over to Abby's stall. Where Abby was once more out. "Abbs….baby, wake up for a minute, ok? I've got Casey…she's ok, but she's a little sicker than you…"

Abby came around. "Take her first. I…I'll. Follow you. Out."

Tony shook his head. "Not happening, sweets. We stick together, ok?"

Putting on the best sad face she could under the circumstances, she begged Tony to take the young girl first. "I'll. Be right be-behind. You. Pr-prom-mise."

Taking in the whiteness of the girl's - Casey's - skin and the limpness of her body, Tony knew Abby was right that the girl should be taken out first. But he didn't want to leave Abby here - she couldn't take too much more CO2 inhalation herself. He also knew that Abby would never forgive him if he let anything happen to the teen. He sighed. "All right." He picked her head up when she started to slip back into sleep. "You listen to me, Abigail. You awake? Ok, good. You stay _right behind me_, got that?" He gave her a little shake to bring her back to focus. "You stay with me, Sciuto."

So…..tired…. She nodded limply. "Knew…you'd find… mm-me….." she whispered sadly.

Tony cupped her cheek tenderly, tears in his eyes. "I will _always_ find you, Abbs," he murmured to her softly, his heart breaking for her. With a last stroke of her cheek, he stood and helped her to a standing position. She was wobbly so he had her lean on the wall while he bent and scooped Casey up. He really wanted to cry when she moaned and tried to get away.

Not remembering what was happening, Abby feebly tried to come to Casey's rescue. "N-nooooo!" she whimpered. "You…you prom-omised….you'd leave her…'lone. 'Ll do wha' you wan….don' hurt…don' hurt her…ple-ease?"

He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what Abby'd had to do, how long she'd given herself to protect Casey. "I won't hurt her, Abbs. We're gonna' get the both of you out of here, ok? But I need you to follow me. Hear me, Abby?" He stuffed down the bad feeling in his gut and began making his way out of the room. At the door, he turned to see Abby still leaning against the wall where he'd put her. "Abigail Sciuto, you get over here right now. You promised to stick with me, so get over here." He watched as she made her way over, stumbling, holding onto anything she could to keep herself upright. "That's my girl."

Propping herself against the doorjamb, she sleepily opened her eyes. "'m I? Your…girl?" She fell into him as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"From now until always," he whispered.

While still half-out of it, this answer seemed to perk Abby up a bit. It gave her hope. She nodded dopily, like she was drunk off her ass. "Ok, then. Ge' me….out…outta here."

With a small smile and a wink, Tony said, "Let's do it. Remember - stay _right with me_. If I'm going too fast or you're feeling dizzy, tell me and we'll rest for a minute, ok?"

Eyes closed and listing to the left, Abby nodded. "'S'go."

Tony led the way through doorways and turns, pausing when Abby would fall behind. "You're doing great, Abbs. Keep it up, baby girl."

All of a sudden Casey began to struggle in his arms, and Tony had to stop. "Shhhhhhh, sweetheart, it's ok. You're gonna' be fine, we're almost out of here, ok?" Casey began to weakly cry, reminding Tony of a baby kitten.

"Nnnnnnoooooooooooo!" She tried to pull away from the creep about to hurt her again.

"Shhhhhh, Casey. Honey, it's ok. Listen to me….listen to me, Casey. My name is Agent DiNozzo - Tony. I'm a friend of Abby's. We're getting you away from Bensonhurst, ok? You understand?"

"A-aaabb-eeee?" She began to panic and cry for a whole new reason. "She…Thad….stopped him….hurt…hurt her…..save-saved m-me. " She tried to see behind them, looking for Abby. "Aaaabbbbyyyyyy!" she yelled with almost no voice. The energy needed to call out drained her, and she drooped in Tony's arms again. She did her best to wrap an arm around his neck, but her muscles were like pudding, and it didn't stay. Through sleepy eyelids, she looked at Tony. "You….you Ton-Tony?"

"That's right, darlin'." He readjusted his hold while he waited for Abby to catch up. He could see her energy was waning fast - she was bumping into things, moving slower.

"Tol' A-abby…you 'r' jus' 'fraid….don' wanna…s'rew up wi' he-her. Cuzzzz shhhee…spe'shul. Said….she-ee say you-id…f-fine' her. Sh-she di'n't let Th-ad…tussshh me…. 'M sor-sorry, … To-neeee." Casey'd used up all her energy and slid back into a deep sleep. She didn't feel Tony pull her close with renewed energy and even more determination to get them ouot of there ASAP.

Having been through this portion of the basement before, Tony knew that the doorway coming up had an elevated threshold. He carefully shouldered the metal door open and stepped up and over. Seconds later, as Abby came through, she tripped over the threshold and fell to her hands and knees. Dazed, she sat like that for a moment.

The jolt of the fall made her mind fuzzy again, and she had to think where she was and what she was doing. Why was she on the floor? She just wanted to lie down and sleep…just…for a…for a minute….. Tony? Yelling at her to get up….basement….Thad…..Tony found her….. Now she remembered. She thought. "You….you go 'head. I'll…be righ' b'hine'…righ' b'hine' you….'Ll cash…up. He-lp. Case..y." She could see him trying to decide. "'M com-min. Go." To prove it, Abby began to struggle to her feet. She saw Tony's lips move, and then he was gone. She sighed and rested for a minute, then remembered she was supposed to be getting up and following Tony. Staggering to her feet, she made her way clumsily down the hall.

When she came to the next door, she whacked her head on it as she tried to open it but it didn't go anywhere. She tried a couple more times to open it, but it took a lot of life out of her. Abby started to lamely bang on the door. "Tone….Ton-y? 'S locked. 'Lo? Door…door's s'locked…l-locked….Toe?" The yawn distracted her from what she was doing, so not knowing what she was supposed to do, she slid down the door to the floor, resting her face against the cool of the metal door. "'S ok….I'll jus'…I'll jus' wai' here. Be righ'…. he-heeeerrrrrrre."

Sliding back into the blackness, she never saw the feet come up behind her….

_**A/N - **_**EEeeeeeeep! A cliffy, right here at the end, you whine? Yes, my dears, afraid so. This chapter was getting a bit long, and there's still a bit to go, so please hang in there! The conclusion should be up hopefully before the weekend. I debated on whether to have the Epilogue be part of the last chapter, but decided that even though it's short, it deserves it's own separate chapter. So that will hopefully be up sometime next week.**

_**A/N 2 - **_**I know nothing about CO2 (carbon monoxide) detectors or CO2 sickness, so any medical people, I was taking a little poetic license with it to make it fit the story. I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. **

**I benefit in no way from this fanfic, other than the cool REVIEWS ya'll give me. REVIEWS make the world go 'round, so please make **_**my**_** world turn, and REVIEW.**

***********Special Shout Out to mandielouluvsewe, who gave me the ingenious idea of CO2 poisoning when I said I needed something to impair Abby a little for the big climactic ending. It fit so perfectly. There were a few other little things she contributed, too. So THANK YOU mandielou!********* **********Oh yeah - go read her stories, especially if you're a Tonyaholic. Awesome stuff!************


	25. Chapter 25

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

**Chapter 25 **

**THE BIG RESCUE **

**PART 2**

_**Last time on NCIS….**_

Staggering to her feet, she made her way clumsily down the hall.

When she came to the next door, she whacked her head on it as she tried to open it but it didn't go anywhere. She tried a couple more times to open it, but it took a lot of life out of her. Abby started to lamely bang on the door. "Tone….Ton-y? 'S locked. 'Lo? Door…door's s'locked…l-locked….Toe?" The yawn distracted her from what she was doing, so not knowing what she was supposed to do, she slid down the door to the floor, resting her face against the cool of the metal door. "'S ok….I'll jus'…I'll jus' wai' here. Be righ'…. he-heeeerrrrrrre."

Sliding back into the blackness, she never saw the feet come up behind her….

_************NCIS**********NCIS**********NCIS************_

As Tony put his back against the last door - the one that would bring them outside - it opened from the outside, causing him to almost fall with his cargo. Tim was quick enough to catch both of them before they hit the ground.

"What happened?" Tim asked anxiously. "Is she…?"

Tony shook his head as he walked over to the Chargers. Where was the damned ambulance? "CO poisoning. No idea how long they were exposed, but if the level on the monitor is correct, it's been a long, long time." Tim opened a back door and Tony laid the young girl on the seat. "This is Casey. No last name. Another of Bensonhurst's victims." He banged his fist on the roof of the car. "If she's a day over sixteen, I'll eat my badge."

Tim looked behind Tony, then around them. "Uh, not to ask a stupid question, boss, but…..where's Abby?"

"She's right behind…" turning around and not seeing her, Tony scanned the area. "She _was_ right behind me. She was barely conscious, tripped and fell. Took her a minute to get up, she said she'd catch up…." He and Tim watched the basement door for a moment, expecting their beloved goth to stumble out any second. When she didn't appear, Tony got worried and started walking back to the building. "You keep an eye on Casey. Keep her breathing. I'm going to go get Abby."

Tim watched Tony go to the basement door, then turned to the car and the girl in the back seat. Not liking her color or the blue tinge around her lips, he checked her pulse. There, but much too slow. Pulling out his phone, he made a call. "Yeah, this is Agent McGee again. Where's our bus? We got a CO victim here, and she needs oxygen. _Fast_. ….. I don't care about any accident on the Parkway, you get a bus here ASAP….. Or what?….Or…..don't make me get my boss involved. That will only make him angry. And you won't like him when he's angry. Look, lady, my boss is Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo, and it's on _his_ order that I'm telling you to speed up the ambulance. You know what…make it _two_. We've got several victims. …. Yes, _that_ Agent DiNozzo….. Thank you, ma'am, we'll expect them shortly." He hung up with a shaky sigh.

"You're getting better at that, McGee."

Tim jumped and turned to see Gibbs standing there. "Oh, hey, bo….Gibbs."

Gibbs looked in the car. "Who's this?"

"Casey No-Last-Name. She was being held with Abby. Another of Bensonhurst's victims."

Swearing under his breath, Gibbs reached a hand in and checked her pulse. "She needs oxygen fast. What happened?"

Tim shrugged. "Not really sure. Tony didn't say much, just that it's carbon monoxide poisoning. The levels in the room where she and Abby were being held were off the charts." Anticipating the older man's question, he said, "Tony's gone to find Abby. She fell behind. Tony thinks she may have fallen asleep again."

Ziva and Tobias Fornell came up at that point, the FBI agent breathing heavily, Ziva barely winded. "We lost him for a second time," said an angry Ziva. She hated to lose, and vowed that if Tony didn't kill this cretin, she would enjoy doing it herself. In fact, she was already comparing methods in her head, trying to decide which would be the most fun…for her. "We found him over by the second building, chased him for a few minutes."

"She almost had him, too," interrupted Fornell.

"Yes, but he knows this place like the back of his head," Ziva began.

"_Hand_," McGee butted in, "it's 'like the back of his hand,' not head."

Ziva glared at Tim. "Whatever. We had a visual as he ran around the south corner of the building, but by the time we got there, he was gone. We circled the building several times. Bensonhurst was nowhere." She hit her thigh in frustration.

Fornell continued, "We checked doors and reachable windows - everything was locked tight. Some of the doors don't have locks on the outside, they must be part of an automatic security lock."

Rubbing a hand over his face tiredly, Gibbs thought outloud. "He must have some secret entrance somewhere if he disappeared that quick." He was about to send Ziva and Fornell back to look for it when Tony came back.

"Couldn't get in," Tony said angrily. "Security doors, auto-locked. Even the main doors are locked."

"We were just telling Gibbs and McGee the same thing," said Ziva. "We lost Bensonhurst on the other side of the building. By the time we got around the corner - woof, he was gone."

"'Poof'," McGee and Tony corrected her together.

Tony looked over at the warehouse, fear and anger coursing through his body at the same time. "So what your saying is…. Bensonhurst managed to get back in the building. And Abby is still somewhere in the building. Equals Abby, barely conscious, locked in the building with the maniac who kidnapped and raped her….."

Gibbs could see Tony was close to losing his focus, his concern over Abby overriding everything else. "Ok, then. If that bastard can get in, so can we. And if we can't find where he got in…..we make our own secret entrance."

They were about to all take off when McGee suddenly remembered the teenager unconscious in the car. "What about Casey? She can't be left alone."

Five government agents looked at each other, each one preparing reasons why they shouldn't be the one to stay back. "I'll stay," Fornell decided. "I could use the rest anyway. Apparently I'm not as young as I used to be," he joked.

The team, minus Tony, began heading for the warehouse. Tony hung back to thank Fornell.

Tobias gave Tony a friendly slap on the back. "Go get _your_ forensic scientist, DiNutso." He smiled at the grateful look on the younger man's face. "You and I both know he'll never say it, but you're doing a good job as team leader. Don't let any of them," he nodded his head towards the team, "tell you different."

Tony tilted his head and fluttered his eyelids. "Aw, Fornell. You _do_ care."

"Get outta' here," Fornell teased back. "And whatever happens to that smug bastard when you get ahold of him …. I saw it all and it was all in self-defense."

With a small smile and a nod, Tony ran to join his team. Fornell watched the boy go, then turned to young Casey, still out of it in the car. Leaning over to check her pulse, he murmured, "you've made some very dangerous new friends, young lady. They won't stop until they've stopped the man that did this to you."

_**************NCIS******NCIS******NCIS******NCIS**************_

After stumbling up the first set of stairs carrying Abby, Thad realized he wasn't going to be able to carry her all the way through the building. She was like deadweight. Glancing out the window, he noticed those NCIS agents surrounding the building. Probably looking for his 'secret' entrance. Damn it! He'd have to go secure it so they couldn't get in. Sitting Abby on the bottom step of the next set of stairs, he leaned her to rest on the wall to keep her from falling over. When he was sure she was secure, Thad ran down the hall and around the corner.

A very drowsy Abby semi-woke up. Seeing she was out of the basement and was in view of the main door of this place, she struggled to her feet. Hanging onto the railing, she stepped down the stair. The world was still spinning, so she clung to the railing for a moment. She felt nauseous, her head was pounding. Taking one step away from the rail, she wavered and quickly leaned one shoulder against the wall. She didn't care if she had to crawl, she was getting the hell out of here, away from Thad. Sliding down the hall, one shoulder to the wall, she slowly made her way to the front door.

Finally reaching it, she took a deep breath, pushing down her exhaustion. Abby pushed down on the handle. The door didn't move. She tried again - still nothing. What was wrong with this thing? She jiggled the handle over and over, to no avail. Out the window of the door, she could see Tony and McGee talking by the car. Abby banged on the window to get their attention, but they didn't hear her. Tony walked away from the car, and a minute later, Gibbs walked up. A tear slid down her cheek. He was really here. For her. Or maybe this was just another hallucination. After all, if it were really Gibbs, he'd know she was looking out the window right now and turn and look at her. It was one of his super powers. Then he'd come get her out of here. She feebly banged on the window and called for help. There was Ziva. And was that Agent Fornell? Her stomach rolled at the thought of Fornell being in her dream. After a minute, Tony joined the group again. They talked then began to split up, with Fornell staying by the car. That must be where Casey was. At least _she_ was safe.

Dizziness overtaking her again, Abby sank to her knees. Her vision began to get blurry, but she could make out the shape of Thad coming back down the hall toward her. A sob worked it's way out as he picked her roughly up off the floor.

"Haven't we already had this discussion once before, sweet, sacrificial Abby?" He huffed as he hoisted her to her feet. "No one leaves Thad Bensonhurst, III." He grabbed her by the throat to keep her from sliding back down to the floor. "Not until _I_ say you can." Thad leered at her body, in it's ripped and tattered clothes and licked his lips. "Maybe we need another lesson, eh?"

Abby didn't know how much more of Thad's 'lessons' she could take. Everything hurt. She was tired, dizzy, sick to her stomach. "No…please…." she whined. "Won't…won't try 'a leave 'gain. Prom-ise."

Slapping her cheek - none too lightly - Thad sneered. "That's my good girl, Now you're learning." Grabbing her by the arm, he started dragging her down the hall. "Now c'mon. We have to get away from access doors and windows. Don't want your NCIS co-workers finding us too soon! That wouldn't be any fun at all." He yanked Abby down the hall behind him. She was so lifeless by this time that her feet weren't even moving, she'd fall flat on her face if he wasn't holding her up.

_**************NCIS******NCIS******NCIS******NCIS**************_

The members of Team DiNozzo and Gibbs met up back at the front door after searching the outside of the building on their own for a way into Bensonhurst's lair. They were all feeling Ziva's earlier frustration. "How can there be no way in? It's impossible!" Ziva never did like being told 'no.'

"Well," said McGee, "I can't guarantee it will get us in the building, but if I can hook into the video cameras, I can interrupt the feed. At least Bensonhurst won't know where we are."

Tony just stared at his SFA. After a moment, he said, "Well? What are you still doing here? Get hacking, McGeek!" He took a little pleasure in watching Tim scuttle back to the car for his laptop like a good little Doo-Bee.

Yep, it was good to be the boss! "Ow!" Tony rubbed the back of his head and looked over his shoulder at Gibbs, who just gave him a glare. "Right. Sorry bo…Gibbs."

McGee hustled back with his laptop, setting it on top of some old packing pallets. He got right to work, murmuring tech-speak to himself as he typed away. "Searching for the frequency….overriding the signal…"

"Can you do it or not, McTaking-His-Sweet-Time?" Ziva was not the only one who hated waiting.

"Just…one second…a-a-a-and….got it! Now we'll shut down all the CCTV signals…..ok."

"He's got no eyes out here?"

"No eyes. All cameras shut down." McGee smiled slightly when Tony patted him briefly on the shoulder.

Ziva huffed. "Well that's just plummy. Now all we need is a way in," she complained to Tony.

"'Peachy'," both Tony and McGee corrected.

Standing in front of the main door to the warehouse, Gibbs used those sniper eyes to check the area out. Finding a wire, he followed it from where it exited the building to the door. He pointed it out. "Alarm wire."

Ziva picked up on his train of thought. "Cut it and the system shuts down, all automatic locks should shut off." She pulled out her knife. "Anyone care to give me a lift?"

Kneeling slightly, Gibbs helped Ziva onto his shoulders and brought her over to the door, where she reached up and sliced the wiring in two. A loud, mechanical thunk could be heard from inside the building. "Alarm system disarmed," Ziva smiled, sliding down off Gibbs' back.

Trying the door, Tony found it locked. "Locked from the inside."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. Pulling out his gun, he stepped in front of the door at shot at the handle, which broke off. He raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Not locked anymore."

"Good thinking, boss." Taking a step back, Tony prepared to kick in the door. It took 3 kicks, but the door finally fell open, and the team followed him into the warehouse. "McGee, start in the basement and work your way up. Be quick, or the CO will make you dizzier than you already are. Ziva, Gibbs, head for the back of the warehouse and go up from there. I'll start here. Holler if you find them, but," he stressed, looking at Ziva and Gibbs, "leave Bensonhurst alive. Incapacitated is fine, but he's _mine._"

Ziva rolled her eyes. "You take all the fun out of everything."

_****_

The team split off and began their search for Abby. Gibbs and Ziva had just cleared the back of the first floor when they heard a thud from the floor above them. Ziva radioed to Tony and McGee that they'd heard something and were moving to the second floor to check it out. Both Tony and McGee said they would meet them up there.

_************NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

Bensonhurst winced as he bumped into a desk, nearly dropping Abby in the process. She was still a limp rag, and he was getting tired of dragging her around. Hearing the clatter of footsteps coming up the stairs, he swore to himself. Somehow those NCIS bastards had found a way inside. They couldn't take his prize from him just yet, he wasn't nearly finished playing with her.

"Very rude friends you have there, Abigail," he crooned, pulling her along behind him. "Recess isn't over, it's still time to play."

Trying hard to get her feet under her, Abby tripped up the steps, groaning as she fell to her knees. She didn't have long to wait though before Thad had her up and trailing in back of him. She'd been out of the basement, away from the CO fumes, long enough that she was beginning to lose some of the lightheadedness, but her limbs and brain were slow to catch up. "Gonna' die, T-Thad. Kill…kill you."

Reaching the third floor, Thad looked around for a hiding spot to wait out the NCIS search. He pushed Abby against the wall and held her there with his own body, leering at her. "Better men than them have tried, sweetheart, but TB3 is still alive and kicking, baby." He mashed his lips to hers, wringing a pained cry from her. Letting her go, he caught her as she began sliding down the wall. He half-dragged, half-carried Abby to the freight elevator and sat her on the floor. "Now be a good girl and wait here while I go take care of the problem." He laughed as he shut the gate to the elevator and ran off down the hall.

Seeing her chance, Abby grabbed onto the gate and heaved herself off the floor. She held on as she swayed a bit, then once she'd gotten her balance, she tried to open the gate. Dammit, Thad had locked it. She put her head on the gate and let the tears fall. Bad enough that Thad would eventually kill _her_, but now he was after her friends, and it was all her fault. Feeling dizzy, she let go of the gate and let herself slowly drop to the floor again. She felt cold, so she curled up into a ball, silently crying.

"Abby?"

She scrunched her closed eyes up in confusion. That voice sounded just like McGee.

"Abby! You ok?"

Definitely a worried Timmy. Hallucinations from the CO poisoning.

"No it's not, Abbs. Open your eyes - I'm right here!" Tim breathed a sigh of relief when Abby's eyes slowly opened. "Gimme just a second, and I'll get you out of there." He set to work with his lock picking kit. With a cry of satisfaction, Tim got the lock off and threw open the gate. "Ok, Abby, let's get you out of here." He put a hand under her arm and helped her stand, supporting her as she swayed drunkenly. He led her slowly out of the elevator and over to the stairs, sitting her down on one. "Have to let everyone know you're ok!" He pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial 1.

Still woozy, not even sure she was really seeing Tim, she wasn't sure she was seeing the figure sneaking up behind him, but even so, she tried to get out a warning. But her mouth and brain couldn't work that fast together yet, and she could only watch in horror as Tim fell to the ground when Thad hit him over the head with a crowbar. Her breath stuck in her throat as she looked at her friend, out cold on the floor. The sound of the crowbar hitting the floor with a clang broke her spell, and she made to run up the stairs to get away, but her body and brain still weren't working together, and she only succeeded in tripping up the stairs again. By that time, Thad had reached her, and she was so tired, she just let him pick her off the floor. Dragging her by the hand, he headed up the stairs. Abby looked back over her shoulder at Tim, laying still as death on the floor and cried silent tears.

_************NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

All Tony heard through the open phone line was a thud and a metal clang. Then a scream. ABBY! Tim must have found her…but what had happened to Tim? He called Gibbs, giving him Tim's last location.

Gibbs and Ziva were nearest to the area where Tim had found Abby, so they rushed to that end of the warehouse. "Tim!" Ziva ran to her friend, kneeling beside him. "He was hit on the head from behind, Gibbs. No sign of a struggle."

Gibbs eyed the surrounding area, took in the crowbar nearby, the elevator. "Bensonhurst snuck up on him while he was helping Abby." He tilted Tim's head for a better look at the wound. "Don't think he'll need stitches, but he'll have one hell of a headache for a while. McGee…McGee," he patted Tim's cheeks and was relieved to see the young man start to rouse. "You'll be ok, Tim. Where's Abby? Where'd he take her?"

Looking around, dazed, Tim pointed to the stairs. "She's right…." he was confused. "She _was_ right there."

Ziva noticed something. "I think he took her up, Gibbs." She pointed to the wall half way up the stairs. A small swipe of blood.

"You stay here with him," Gibbs ordered. "Tell Tony I'm going after them." He didn't wait for the small nod Ziva gave him, just ran up the stairs two at a time.

It was only minutes later when Tony came running down the hall at break-neck speed. He stopped when he saw his SFA and friend on the ground. "What…?"

"Crowbar to the back of the head, knocked him out."

Tony scanned the area - someones were missing. "Where's…..?"

Ziva pointed up the stairs. "Gibbs is following them up."

Heading for the stairs himself, Tony said over his shoulder, "call…"

"I have already called Ducky and he is on his way." Ziva smirked, enjoying getting the best of Tony for once.

Tony met up with Gibbs as he searched the fourth floor. Together, the two of them checked every nook, cranny, and office, but there was no sign of Abby or Bensonhurst. Tony was beyond frustrated. "Dammit! They've got to be here _somewhere!_ This is the top floor!" He pounded his fist against the nearest door. He and Gibbs both stopped and listened - a door slam. Tony pounded on the door again. The same sound. He and Gibbs raised their weapons as Tony reached for the door. Whipping it open, they found no one.

Gibbs took out his flashlight and shone it around the area. It looked like the machine room. Stepping in, gun at the ready, he and Tony searched the room. And off in the corner, hidden behind the industrial-sized turbine, they found a set of stairs that led to the roof. And the door wasn't shut all the way. "There's our door slam," Gibbs muttered.

Tony's eyes narrowed, thinking about all the bad things that could happen on a roof. Kate immediately sprang to mind, but he pushed the thought away, refusing to believe that that would happen to his Abby. "Looks like we're going to the roof."

_************NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

_**A/N:**_** Oh, I'm SO evil, cutting the Big Rescue off yet again! The next chapter will be the actual rescue, so buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy night! Then an epilogue after that to finish the story off. I have a sequel already in the works - what do ya'll think? Want to see what happens with Tabby as the years go by? It's set in the present. It's based on a Youtube video made by the wonderful LifelessApril, who goes by Rikkunessx on youtube, called Family Portrait (the song by Pink). As I watched it, the ideas just popped into my head, and when I told LifelessApril about them, she told me to go ahead and write it. It's been thru many changes in the past few weeks, but I think we've finally got the plot and everything all nailed down. I've been running everything past April, seeing as it IS her video the story is based on, so I wanted her to have some say in what happens in the story. It doesn't have a name yet, but the first 3 chapters are done.**

**So what say you, Tabby fans? Want to see what our favorite couple is up to 6 or 7 years after the whole TFT thing? Let me know in A REVIEW!**

**And if anyone should happen to converse with DiNozzo Fangirl in some way, tell her she's in a LOT of trouble from me, and to email me IMMEDIATELY! Like, RIGHT NOW! Or Else!**

_**DISCLAIMER:**_** Sadly, the only thing I can claim ownership of in this story is TFT. Everything else is property of those other guys - you know who you are, guys.**

_**REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE, WITH SUGAR ON TOP!**_


	26. Chapter 26

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

**CHAPTER 26**

_**THE BIG RESCUE PART 3**_

"_Looks like we're going to the roof….._**"**

_**********NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

Discussing the layout of the roof, Tony and Gibbs decided on a plan. Tony would go out the door to the roof while Gibbs would climb the fire escape up and hopefully come in behind Bensonhurst. Tony tried to get Gibbs to let _him_ be the one to go up the fire escape - "not that you're _old_ or anything, it's just, ya' know, a long way down from up there, and you've been away from the federal agent biz for a while and….shutting up now, boss." So with that settled, Gibbs left for the nearest window while Tony stalked up the steps to the door that would take him to the roof.

"_I thought I'd die before I ever heard Tony admit that!" _'Dammit, Kate, get out of my head! I don't need this now!' Tony slowly opened the door, gun ready, and stepped out onto the roof. He did a 360* scan of the area, disappointed that his quarry was not in sight. He took a few tiny steps away from the door, trying to keep his breathing slow and deep to calm himself. "I hate rooftops," he muttered to himself.

The further onto the roof he walked, the more his confidence grew. Eyes scanning all sides, he paused when he heard a muffled thump. Hearing it again, he headed toward it, gun in position to shoot. Coming up behind another stairwell, Tony huddled close so as not to be seen. The adrenaline started flowing when he heard TFT's voice.

_************NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

"Let's go, get up." Thad reached for Abby's arm again to pull her to her feet.

Abby's muscles felt like wet noodles. "I can…can't," she groaned. "Can't walk…walk any….more. Can't."

Thad shook his head, getting angry. "Don't do this, Abigail. You know what happens to girls who disobey me." He slapped her across the face.

Too tired to even cry out at the pain, Abby just sat there. "P-please…please, Thad. Jus' wanna' go -go home. S'tired."

"You want to go home?" Thad sneered, bent over and grabbed one of Abby's braids. "Just how badly do you want to go home, huh, bitch?"

Abby closed her eyes and gulped. In her weakened state, she wouldn't be able to do anything to protect herself. She remembered her friends were here, they'd find her…..but would it be too late? In any case, she knew that no matter what happened to her, her team wouldn't let this man hurt another woman or young girl ever again, even if Tony didn't love her anymore. And that gave her hope. "He-he'll kill you. Hurt…you hurt…me. He'll k-kill you."

Wrapping her braid around his hand, Thad used it to pull Abby to her feet. He smiled at her whimper. "He can try," he grinned evilly, bringing Abby's face right up to his. "In fact, I'm looking forward to it. Now let's go," he ordered.

Having no strength left, Abby couldn't help but let herself be dragged along behind Thad. She took deep breaths, trying to get as much oxygen into her system as she could, knowing it would flush out the CO. But she worried that she'd inhaled too much of the poisonous gas, because while the dizziness was fading, she couldn't seem to get her brain and her body to work together. She couldn't even think…..her mind wouldn't focus very long on anything. What if this was permanent? What if she'd never be able to think normally again? What about her job? She _loved_ her job, she never wanted to do anything else…. All these thoughts assailed her at the same time, overwhelming her, causing her to stumble. She hadn't the energy to do more than squeak as her drop was stopped by Thad's grip on her braid. When this was over, she was cutting off the braids. Then no one could use them to hurt her again. Maybe she'd even go bald…that was an idea…. She could even get a few tatts on her bald head. To distract herself, Abby thought about what kind of tattoos she'd have done to cover her chrome dome.

Thad smirked evilly to himself. This nightmare had just given him another tool in his carnal pursuits. Abby was helpless against him. She couldn't fight back, could barely even put a sentence together, never mind being able to scream. Yes, adding drugs or a gas like what happened today, would only make his job that much more fun. While he enjoyed the fight in Abby, having the sluts totally helpless was even better! Coming to another stairwell, Thad set Abby down on the ground. "Now, don't move," he teased in that sing-song voice. "Oh, that's right…you can't!" With a laugh, he turned to the door and began trying to open the door, which hadn't been opened in at least 20 years.

Abby just sat there, dejected, her legs curled under her. She was feeling weak again, wanted to sleep. But she couldn't let herself. She may not be able to do anything about what was going to happen to her, but she felt the need to be awake through it.

_************NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS*****NCIS************_

"…_..you know what happens to girls who disobey me…."__** SLAP!**_

Tony cringed at the sound of Bensonhurst striking Abby. He wanted to rush over and grab her in his arms and hold her, never let her go. But he had to wait. Bensonhurst was too close to Abby right now. And there'd been no signal from the boss yet. Tony wouldn't risk Abby by going in without backup.

Sticking to his hiding place, he peered around the corner to see Abby being dragged across the roof. He waited until Thad had dragged her around the other stairwell before running silently across the roof to a new position behind the stairwell. So close…he was so close to getting his girl back. He peeked around the corner. He couldn't see Bensonhurst, but he saw Abby, sitting limply, so alone and sad. He gave himself a mental head slap for putting that look in her eye. He swore to God that, if He'd just let them get her out of this alive, Tony would spend the rest of his life making sure she was happy all the time.

He ducked back behind the wall as Bensonhurst came into view, pulling Abby to her feet. Her lack of response scared Tony. She needed pure oxygen, fast, or she could be permanently impaired. Still no sign of Gibbs, but Tony knew this was his last chance to do this. If Bensonhurst got Abby back inside, he'd have hundreds of places to hide, and who knows what would happen to Abby. No, up here on the roof, there was nowhere for the creep to go.

It had to be NOW.

"…f-finds…you, kill…kill you. Won't le' y-you hurt…'nother girl. H-hunt y-you down n' kill…you…."

Thad sneered. "Your beloved NCIS. Hell, bitch, I escaped from the FBI! If they can't hold me, what makes you think your NCIS can?" He yanked her hard towards himself, setting Abby off-balance, and she began to fall.

"I'd listen to the lady, Thad ol' buddy." Tony stepped from behind the stairwell wall, gun pointed at Bensonhurst's heart. His heart ached when Abby whimpered his name, but he did his best to close his mind to it. Couldn't let his feelings distract him.

Straightening up, Thad kept a limp Abby close to his chest. "Well, well, it's my good pal Agent DiNozzo. Come to join the party, did ya'? Got your favorite piece of tail right here."

The only clue that Bensonhurst's words bothered Tony was the slight flare of his nostrils. "Let her go. You can still walk out of here alive." He eased a few steps closer.

"C'mon, man….look at her!" Thad turned Abby to fully face Tony, holding her up with an arm around her chest. "So out of it, she won't even know what's happening, man!"

The look on Abby's face was a myriad of emotions - relief, fear, tired. She was trying hard to stand on her own two feet, but they were too wobbly. She sagged in Bensonhurst's arms. Tony took a few more slow steps forward, gun still poised to shoot. "I told you before - I'm _nothing_ like you. I prefer my women to be with me _willingly_. See, a _real_ man doesn't need to resort to kidnapping, hurting, and abusing a woman." His eyes sought Abby's. "And if he ever _did_ hurt her, a real man would spend the rest of his life making it up to her." He saw Abby's eyes soften - she knew he was talking about himself. The tear rolling down her cheek threatened to undo him, but he pushed it aside. He had a job to do.

He felt guilty, that's all, Abby told herself. Sorry that she'd been taken again. But the look in his eyes…..so, ok, maybe Tony didn't hate her after all. And if friends is all they'd ever be - she'd take it. It'll be hard to be just friends when she still loved him so much. But she'd take him in her life however she could get him.

Agent DiNozzo getting a little too close for comfort, Thad started backing away. Oh-ho, maybe there was a little sumthin'-sumthin' between Dapper Dan here, and the bitch. More than DiNozzo had made it out to be, last time they'd met. "Awww c'mon, Agent DiNozzo. You were the one that told me the shorter list was who hadn't done the wild nasty with this bitch, that _everyone_ at NCIS had had a taste of her." His free hand squeezed Abby's breast, pinched at it. Thad smiled when she whined.

Her head was turned away, so Thad didn't see the look Abby gave Tony. She could see in Tony's eyes an apology for what Thad was saying. Abby'd watched her team interrogate suspects long enough so that she recognized the "befriend the suspect to get him to talk" ploy. She hoped the look she was giving Tony was letting him know she understood what all that was about. Catching his ever-so-slight nod, Abby knew that he knew that she knew what Tony had been saying….what? 'Ohhhhh, when is my brain going to come back on line?' she thought. All this walking - well, being dragged backward was making her dizzy all over again. She knew she had to do something so Tony could take a shot, but she couldn't form a complete thought.

Tony was starting to get nervous…Thad was getting closer and closer to the edge of the roof, and he wasn't paying any attention to where he was. Tony decided to stop moving forward, hoping that would stop Bensonhurst, too. He put on his devious smile. "Ehh, so I lied. Got you to talk, didn't it? Besides - everyone at NCIS knows enough not to mess with Abby. She can kill you and leave no forensic evidence. Seen her do it, too."

Thad laughed. "Don't mind if I'm not too worried about that at the moment. She can't even stand up on her own, let alone kill me."

Tony's eyes narrowed in anger. He cold see Abby starting to tire. "One thing I've learned over the years, Thad, ol' pal. Never underestimate a woman. Especially this one." He kept an eye on the distance Thad was from the edge. He was too close for Tony's comfort. "She's stronger than you or I ever will be."

Abby could feel the world around her starting to spin again. She moaned, not wanting to pass out again.

"She's just a _bitch! _A slut that's only good for one thing….." As Thad took another step backward, Abby began to slide down to the ground. Leaning down to drag her back up, he was put a little off balance. A glance over his shoulder showed his he was one step away from backing over the edge of the roof. Struggling with a rag doll Abby, he planned on using his proximity to the ledge to get out of this situation. He hadn't factored in Agent DiNozzo taking a shot at him.

Seeing Thad bend over Abby and wobble, Tony knew that if he was going to take a shot, it had to be now. As Thad leant down again to drag a limp Abby up, Tony waited for the perfect moment - the moment when Thad would be off-balance.

_**B A N G!**_

Tony's bullet got Thad in his left shoulder, the shoulder that was behind the man. The speed of the bullet spun him, and he started to teeter off the ledge. At the last moment, Thad grabbed Abby's knee, and they both went over the side.

Time stopped for Tony. Bensonhurst had just pulled Abby off the roof! Holy…. He couldn't look, couldn't see Abby all over….. Wait, was that a whimper? Flinging his gun to the side, Tony ran to the edge and dropped to his knees. Sure enough, there were Abby's hands, clinging to the edge! Looking past her, he could see Bensonhurst clinging to Abby's waist. "It's ok, baby, I'm right here. I'm gonna' get you up, ok? Just hang on, baby girl. Don't you dare let go, hear me?" He thought he heard a mumbled, tired agreement from her. Dropping down onto his stomach, he eased far enough over so that his arms were over the edge, and he could see what was happening. Tony reached down as far as he could and grabbed Abby by the arms. "I gotcha', baby girl…..no no no, don't look down, look at me, just look at me…atta' girl."

The pain in her lower body was extreme. The weight of Thad hanging off her waist in mid-air was pulling on her back. She tried to shimmy, to kick out at the man, but her legs just wouldn't co-operate. She could feel her fingers begin to slip off the edge. She looked down at Thad, crying. "Lemme' go! Please…let go!"

The sweat on his arms and hands was making them slippery, and Thad felt his grip on Abby's waist slipping. "I can't do that, Abby!" He tried to hold on tighter as he slid a few inches further down her waist. "I own you!"

"…_.don't look down, look at me. Just look at me….atta' girl…."_ Abby stared up at Tony, tears in her eyes. It hurt. She was so tired. And she was going to die. The last thing she ever saw would be her Tony. And the only thing he'd remember about _her_ was that he couldn't save her. "S'ok, Tony, s'ok," she mumbled over and over, hoping he understood that she didn't blame him for this, that she didn't want him to beat himself up for losing her. She could feel his grip on her arms slipping - not only was he holding up her weight, but he was holding Thad's too. Tony was strong, but Abby knew it was too much. Please let him see the love in her eyes…..

Tony gritted his teeth, the strain on his arm muscles was incredible. He wouldn't be able to move them for probably more than a week. Abby would have to take care of him. That was the only solution - losing Abby was NOT an option! "I've got ya', Abbs. I've got ya'. And I won't let you go. Hear me?" The defeat in Abby's eyes was plain to see. She knew she was going down, and she didn't want him to blame himself. She was forgiving him, dammit! "Just hold on, Abbs, ok? Hold on! That's an order, Sciuto!" He looked past Abby, down to Bensonhurst. The man didn't have the sense to look scared. "Let her go, Bensonhurst, you'll pull her down with you! Let her go!"

As Thad slipped down to Abby's thighs, it pulled Abby down some more, too. "I'll never let her go….I own her! She's mine!" As Abby's legs swung with his movements, he slipped lower, to her knees. Her pathetic cry made him smile. Damn, he was getting hard! So fuckin' awesome!

Abby cried out as Thad dropped to her knees. She could feel his sweaty palms slide up her thigh, and knew he was getting off on this. She feebly kicked, trying to get him off, but he wouldn't let go. Her own fingers were getting sweaty, gripping the edge of the roof. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Knowing there was no other way for this to end, she looked sadly up at Tony. "Let me go."

"_Let me go_." Tony's heart broke at the look in Abby's eyes, and the tear trickling down her cheek just about killed him. No screaming, no whining. Not his girl. Just quiet acceptance of her fate. If she thought for one second that he would ever _willingly_ let her go, she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. He put all his heart into his answer. "I can't, Abbs." He wished he had his gun - he'd shoot Bensonhurst in the hand to get him to let go….for a split second, a scene from the movie "Return Of the Jedi" flashed in his mind - the big rescue scene in the beginning where Lando Calrissian is being pulled into the Sarlac Pit by the tentacles of the Sarlac, and Han Solo, still suffering some blindness from being frozen in carbonite, grabs a gun and leans over the edge, holding it down for Lando to grab. Lando does, but the pull of the Sarlac is dragging him further into the pit. Han pulls out his weapon, telling Lando not to move so much, and Lando's petrified he's going to get shot because Han is still blind. With a well-placed laser blast, Han severs the tentacle grasping onto Lando, and he pulls Lando up onto the skiff…. Yeah, that entire scene in a split second. "Let her go, Bensonhurst!"

Thad could feel his grip loosening. All the moving Abby was doing was making it difficult for his sweaty hands to hold on. "Why don't YOU let her go?" he yelled up to the agent. "She belongs to ME! I own her!"

Tony tried to get Abby to let go of the roof and take his hands, but she was too scared. "Well then, we've got a problem, because I love her too much to let her go!"

Abby's head shot up to look at Tony. He loved her?

"Just hang on, baby girl. Stay with me. Let go of the roof, I got you…. I won't let you go, Abby, I can't. Stay with me, baby…" Tony began to try and pull Abby up, but his position over the edge made moving back from it impossible for him, and she dropped back down an inch or two with a scream. "S'ok, Abbs, I got you, I got you…."

That few inch drop made Abby's legs swing, and Bensonhurst slipped down to her ankles. The pain of his weight on her ankles made Abby cry out. She was going down, this was it!

Just as Bensonhurst slid to her ankles, Tony's grip slipped and he now had Abby by the wrists. The two men were literally pulling her in two. She was tired. She ached. She was dizzy. She couldn't hang on to the roof anymore…..she closed her eyes in exhaustion and let go…

When Abby let go of the roof, the force of her drop made Thad's hands lose their grip. With a flailing swing for some part of her body, Thad Bensonhurst, III, dropped 4 stories to his death.

The weight of Thad sliding down pulled Abby down some more. One of her wrists slipped out of Tony's grip. Without Thad latched onto her, she swung violently.

For one split moment when Bensonhurst finally let go, Tony thought they were home-free. Then the sharp movements and weight of Bensonhurst clining on for dear life pulled Abby down, and one of Tony's hands lost it's grip on her wrist. _**"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ At the last second, Tony felt someone grab him by his belt.

"I got ya' Tony!"

Probie!

Swinging around in mid-air, Tony's grip on her wrist the only thing between her and death, Abby was surprised when something clamped tightly around her waist and pulled her to the side.

"Gotcha', Abbs."

GIBBS!

Seeing Gibbs had Abby tightly, Tony let Tim and Ziva pull him to a sitting position. He immediately crawled on his hands and knees over to the small fire escape where Gibbs was holding Abby against the ladder. He reached down, and with Tim's help, they pulled Abby back up onto the roof. Walking several feet away from the edge, carrying Abby in his arms, Tony sank to the ground and wrapped himself around her, tears running down his cheeks. He pressed kisses to whatever body part he could reach. She was safe. She was here in his arms, and she was safe. He pulled her tighter to him. She was speaking so softly, he almost didn't hear her.

"You didn't let me go…..you didn't….you didn't drop…..you didn't let me go…." She managed to bring her wet noodle arms up around Tony's neck. Feeling wetness on her arm, she looked up…Tony was crying. Wishing she had the energy to wipe them off his cheek, she settled for snuggling deeper into his embrace. "You didn't let me go…you-you didn't let go….."

Putting his forehead against hers, Tony looked Abby in the eye. "Like I said…I love you too much to _ever_ let you go."

Abby sighed and closed her eyes. "Me, too."

Around them, Tim was talking with Fornell, while Ziva filled in the local police department. Gibbs walked with Ducky over to the couple sitting on the ground, all but welded together. He was on the phone with Jenny, letting her know what had gone down. While Ducky began a quick examination, Abby looked up at the man who saved her life - the man she loved. The man who loved her. And she knew there and then that there'd never be anymore Monsters in the Shadows.

_************NCIS*****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS*****NCIS************_

_**A/N:**_** Awwwwwwwww! (sniffle, wiping a tear) Hope TFT got exactly what you all thought he deserved! **_**But wait! There's MORE!**_** One more chapter - an epilogue. It's cute - kind of sappy, but I think ya'll will like it. I hope!**

_**A/N 2:**_** Special thanks to all who've stuck with me for the whole ride, especially MoonlightGypsy, mandielouluvsewe, LifelessApril, and DiNozzo Fangirl. Should anyone correspond with DiNozzo Fangirl, please tell her to get in touch with me ASAP! Or else!**

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't even own TFT anymore - he's dead! I gain nothing from NCIS or anyone associated with it, and they gain nothing from this fanfic. Except maybe a good laugh, if they ever actually read it.**_

_**INSTRUCTIONS: **_** ! Please! **

**C'mon….tell me how happy you are that TFT got **

**what was coming to him….!**


	27. Chapter 27

_**MONSTERS IN THE SHADOWS**_

**CHAPTER 27**

The months following The Big Rescue were hectic for all involved. Abby spent a good week in the hospital, and _this_ time around, Tony never left her side. Well, maybe once or twice, but those were the times that Gibbs physically removed him from the room and told him to go grab a shower and some sleep. Abby had had to spend several hours in the hyperbaric chamber receiving pure oxygen - those were the longest hours of Tony's life!

Once Abby was out of the hospital, there were the therapy appointments. She had 3 sessions a week privately, plus she attended a group session once a week - but that was more to support Casey than anything else. She and Tony were "together" finally. They'd talked about what had happened before….well, before what happened had happened. He'd all but gotten down on his knees (only because she made him get back up) and begged her forgiveness. Once he'd explained that he'd been….anxious ('anxious' cuz DiNozzos aren't _afraid_ of anything, of course) about loving her, because he _did_ love her, but he was 'anxious' that he'd screw it up. She was his best friend, and he was 'anxious' he'd lose that if something went wrong between them as lovers. She'd told him that she was afraid too (because Sciutos _do_ get afraid!), but their being friends first could only make their relationship that much stronger. Now if she could only get him to make love to her again. Oh, they hugged, snuggled, kissed….but Tony always stopped before it got too hot and heavy. Abby would be the first to admit that yes, in the beginning, she had a little problem with intimacy. But she was ready now. Why was Tony ignoring her signals? That she _needed_ that physical closeness with him?

Casey had also spent a few hours in the hyperbaric chamber in the hospital. Her physical injuries were less severe than Abby's, but mentally she was still fragile. That wouldn't last long, if Team DiNozzo had their way - they had all adopted the teen as a little sister, and they all helped in her recovery any way they could. Including Fornell, who'd become like a father figure for her. She had even talked Ziva into giving her hand-to-hand training to protect herself.

Gibbs stayed for a few weeks, until he was sure Abby was going to be ok, and after that, he called her at least once a week to check on her. At first, he'd been a little put out that Abby looked to Tony for comfort now, but he realized it was a good thing. She was in good hands with DiNozzo, and Gibbs told Tony so. Along with the warning that if he ever hurt Abby, Gibbs would kill him. Tony agreed wholeheartedly, offering up his own weapon if that time ever came.

Tony was Tony. He had gained the respect of his team, and they now functioned as the MCRT with the highest closure rate should - as a team. Oh, the team still hated the dreaded "Campfire," but at least now they didn't complain about them…to his face, anyway. Without anyone knowing, Tony himself went to therapy. Loving Abby as much as he did, he wanted to talk over his fears, his hopes. He wanted to make sure he didn't push her too hard or too soon. He and Abby spent most nights together, when work didn't interfere, and he held her through her nightmares, which became less frequent as time went on. They had yet to make love again. Not because Tony didn't want to - he most certainly DID. He was just worried about Abby, thinking she would be afraid. But in being honest with himself, he realized that sex - making love - was no longer his number one priority. He had Abby in his arms every night, and that was all he needed. If they never made love again, he would survive. Well, he'd _miss_ it, yeah, but Abby was more important. But as his therapist would tell him, "get real!"

Which was why he was now holding her hand as they followed the bellman to their suite in The :Plaza Hotel in New York City. He'd been planning this very trip since before she'd been kidnapped the second time, when he'd been trying to think of a way to get her to forgive him for the things he'd said that fateful day in the bullpen. He'd called in some favors back then, and he'd had to call in more to make it happen now. He knew that she was apprehensive about being here, that she thought he'd be expecting something to happen in bed. If it happened, GREAT! If it didn't - well, that was ok. But he had something totally different in mind for this trip.

Their first evening in New York City, they'd gone to dinner at the Four Seasons. Tony wanted to pamper his girl, wine her and dine her, and just have fun. They'd taken a walk afterward, looking at all the lights in Times Square. Being a warm, early summer night, they came back to their suite and had drinks on the balcony overlooking the city. And they talked. About everything, about nothing. It was relaxing, comfortable, and felt so right. That night they slept in the ridiculously huge bed with the luxurious sheets, all snuggled up together. Tony never noticed Abby's sad frustration as they drifted off.

The next day, Tony announced that this would be the only time on their trip that he'd "order" her to do something. He wanted her to go to the Plaza Spa and indulge in anything she wanted. If it was exotic, pampering, primping, shi-shi, fancy-smancy, frou-frou, expensive, and womanly, he wanted her to do it. That's what this trip was about - indulging. He had something particularly special planned for that evening, and he would be spending most of the day making final arrangements. It had to go off _perfectly. _For Abby.

While she'd enjoyed her Day at the Spa, she'd missed Tony more. As she'd had a deep tissue, hot rose oil, total body massage, a dark chocolate bath and facial, and mani-pedi, she couldn't help but be curious as to what Tony was up to. She was surprised he'd kept it to himself so long - he was such a little kid, he almost always ended up spilling the beans because he just couldn't hold it in anymore. The spa manager stopped Abby as she made her way back to her dressing lounge, and led her to another changing area. Abby's mouth dropped open - there had to be twenty dresses scattered around the room, each one different from the next. Apparently 'Mr. DiNozzo' had ordered a variety be brought in for Abby to choose from for tonight's secret destination. Each dress was available in any color Abby desired in the hotel boutique, all she had to do was request it. There were fancy, glittery gowns, plain sheaths, and fun, funky, flirty shorter dresses. There was at least one of each style that Abby could see herself in, Tony knew her tastes as well as she did. But the management insisted that each one be tried on. And Abby was glad they had insisted, otherwise she never would have found this dress. A plain, unadorned sheath in a spring green. Certainly not a color she would have chosen on her own. But from the first look in the mirror, Abby had known this was the one. Soft, silky, flowy, accenting her curves. And the color….maybe it was all the scrubbing she'd had done to her today, but the tone of the green seemed to make her skin glow, not to mention bringing out the green in her eyes. This was the dress, but just for the fun of it (Abby couldn't _believe_ she was having fun trying on dresses!), she tried on the ones that were more her style. They were cool, and she knew which one Tony was thinking she'd pick - the studded belt was a dead give-away. But it was always going to be that green one. (It had been a chore, but she managed to convince the manager to charge that little black dress to Abby - apparently they'd been given strict orders to put anything she picked out on Tony's tab. It was only when she told them she wanted to surprise him with it at a later date for some…fun….that they agreed to let Abby purchase it herself.)

From there it was to the shoe department, where the staff probably worked harder than they ever have, trying to talk Abby out of any kind of platform boot. They all finally reached an agreement on gold, chunky, high-heeled sandals. As soon as the door shut behind Abby, poor Eduardo sank onto an overstuffed divan. "This commission is all mine, girls," he groaned. "I'm taking a break. I don't care _who_ this young man knows, we're _closed_ the next time they visit. I simply can _not_ go through another fitting like that again!"

Back in the spa, Abby received a delivery of deep, deep purple roses, with a note from Tony, telling her to be ready and upstairs at 8:00 pm for their special date. So with help from all the spa workers, Abby was primped and dressed (no matter how long she lived, she would _never _get used to someone else putting her clothes on for her!) and ready just before eight o'clock. All activity stopped as Abby came out in her green dress and chunky gold sandals, and everyone in the spa let out an envious sigh. "Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!" With hugs and kisses and many thank yous, Abby left the spa and went to her room. "Isn't that just _so_ romantic?" "Wish I had a man to do all that for _me_," "Now _that's_ true love, ladies," spoke the manager. "Mark my words, girls. The next time we see Miss Sciuto, there will be a diamond on her finger!" All the spa agreed with a sigh.

_************NCIS****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS************_

At eight o'clock on the dot, Tony stood outside their suite, inexplicably nervous. He tugged on his impeccably tailored black tuxedo jacket sleeves and straightened his already straight royal blue tie. If it wouldn't ruin the whole effect, he'd loosen the knot and undo the top button of the crisp, white shirt. With a deep breath, he opened the door to the room and entered, closing it behind him. No Abby. He worried. "Abbs?"

"Out here," she called from the balcony.

Tony walked to the open balcony doors, expecting to see that little black dress with the studded belt. His heart just about stopped as he saw Abby, back to him, silhouetted against the sun setting behind the New York City skyline. In a gorgeous green slip of a dress, hair curled in a simple ponytail held by gold and matching green silk ribbon, gold sandals on her feet. He tried, but couldn't speak. If he hadn't had one hand on the doorjamb, he would have fallen to his knees when she turned around to face him. She was exquisite. She chuckled at his speechlessness.

"You've got a fish-face," she teased, leaning back against the railing in a centerfold pose.

He straightened up and cleared his throat. Tried to breathe. "W-w-wow," was all he could come up with.

"Wow, yourself." Abby shifted her hips, finding herself incredibly turned on at the sight of Tony in that black tuxedo. If the railing weren't holding her up, she would have melted as he stalked slowly over to her, like a jaguar stalking its' prey.

He could hear the hitch in her breath as he slowly made his way over to her. If the look in her eye was anything to go by, she was as turned on as he was. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, dropping his head for a hot, wet, delicious kiss. His pulse sped up when he heard her moan softly, and her arms made their way up around his neck, her fingers playing in his hair.

Snuggling her lower body closer to his, Abby broke the kiss and kissed her way down his neck. "Do we have to go out tonight?" she murmured, hoping he'd say 'no.'

Remembering the reason for the tux, Tony dragged himself away from Abby's traveling mouth and sighed. "Yep." Seeing her pout, he ran his thumb along her lower lip, marveling at the softness. 'Focus, DiNozzo!' "But the sooner we go, the sooner we get back."

Abby turned and quickly scooped up her gossamer gold shawl and draped it around her shoulders. "Well c'mon then, big guy!" she said over her shoulder, grabbing his hand as she all but ran past him. "Our reservation is waiting!" Tony followed with a smile and a laugh.

Leaving the elevator in the lobby, Abby tucked under Tony's arm, neither lovebird was aware of the looks they were receiving from all over. The staff of the spa had all come to the door and were watching the pair saunter to the door, happy to see the young couple so in love. Eduardo, from the shoe department, also watched and had to admit that the young lady had been right to choose those shoes - they really did complement the dress and her style. And looking at her man, he decided that for a delish man like that, they could come back to his shop _any_ time! All the women in the lobby were both envious and jealous of Abby - what they would give to have their husbands, boyfriends, lovers look at them the way Tony was looking at her - like she was the only woman in the world. And every guy wished he was Tony - not only for having such a beautiful girl on his arm, but for the way every woman in the room was looking at him.

Oblivious to it all, the duo walked to the door, where the doorman let them out. "Are you ready, Mr. DiNozzo?" he asked.

With a secret smile at Abby, he answered the doorman, "bring it on, Jonathan." And with that, the doorman stepped to the curb and held out his hand and blew a whistle. Seconds later, a white horse pulling an open carriage pulled up, the driver decked out in tux with tails and top hat. Stepping down from his perch, he gave a slight bow to Abby and helped her into the carriage. Meanwhile, Tony slipped the doorman a generous tip and shook hands with the driver. Climbing up next to Abby, Tony sat and pulled her up next to him. "Ready, baby girl?"

Abby lay her head on Tony's shoulder and snuggled up comfortably. "Bring it on, Anthony" she joked with a smirk.

With a click of his tongue, the driver set the horse in motion, and they were off on Tony's great adventure.

_***********NCIS****NCIS****NCIS*****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS************_

Abby didn't start to wonder where they were going until they'd passed through the heart of the city, passed Broadway, and headed for a small, out of the way alley. She wasn't afraid of the neighborhood - she had her own federal agent for protection - but she was concerned that maybe their driver didn't know where he was going. When she'd whispered as much to Tony, he just smiled and said, "You'll see." As Tony made a quick phone call, a marquee up ahead flickered to life.

The carriage pulled to a stop just in front of the lighted marquee, which was as run down as the theater it announced. Abby was confused when Tony jumped off the carriage happily and said "we're here!"

Gingerly stepping down from the carriage, Abby looked around, looking for something she may have missed. Seeing she hadn't seen the marquee, Tony took her by the shoulders and turned her to face it. "Look up." He knew without having to see her face when she read it.

"**APPEARING TONIGHT-ONE NIGHT ONLY**

**TONY AND ABBY in ANDROID LUST"**

Abby sucked in a breath. What had Tony done? She looked at him, questions in her eyes, but he just smiled, took her hand, and led her to the door, where they were greeted by an older gentleman in an old-fashioned usher's uniform. "Right this way sir, madam." He led them to a concert hall that had been opulent in its' heyday. Leading them down to the main floor, the lights began to dim, as if a show were about to begin.

In the middle of the floor, bathed in soft, amber light was a small table, set elegantly for two. Real china dishware, sterling silver utensils, cut crystal glasses, lit candle in a crystal holder, all sitting on a pristine, white linen tablecloth. Abby looked up at Tony with a mix of confusion and amazement, but he just gave her a tender smile and led her to the table. His fingers brushed her shoulders as he seated her. As he sat in his own seat, a tuxedoed waiter appeared from the shadows next to Tony and introduced himself, asking if either of them would like a drink. Deferring to Tony, Abby let him choose their wine. She gazed around the theater in wonder, she couldn't believe that Tony did all this for _her_. When the waiter left, Tony reached across the table and gently took her hand. She blushed.

"Tony, this is….."

"Too much? Too kooky?" He reached to rub his shin when Abby kicked him under the table. "Ow!"

"That's for not letting a lady finish her sentence. I was _going_ to say, 'amazing,' 'incredible,' 'unbelievable.'" She shyly dropped her gaze to where their hands where joined. "Did you really have all this planned before? Ya' know… before, before?"

His thumb caressed the back of her hand softly. "Yep. Was even giving up my frat weekend in Miami to do it, too," he teased.

"Awww, for _me_?" she teased back.

Placing a finger under her chin, Tony tilted her head up so she could look in his eyes. "I would give up _everything_ for you, Abbs. I love you." A solitary tear ran down her cheek and he brushed it away with a finger.

"I love you, too, Tony," she said in a wobbly voice, trying not to cry. "So much." Abby reached out her free hand and put her palm to his cheek.

Abby was sure the dinner was delicious - Tony had all her favorites served - but she was so amazed that he would do this for her and so in love, that she didn't think she actually tasted anything! The mood was lighthearted, lots of laughing, as only Tony could get her to do. It was as they finished up dessert - her favorite Italian confection, chocolate chip cheese-filled cannoli - that she decided it was time to really talk. Before she could speak, Tony leaned across the table and gave her a small kiss on the corner of her mouth, more a lick, really. She raised her eyebrow at him as he sat back.

"Had a little….cream, there, on the corner…." The look he gave her was smoldering.

Ohhhh boy. "Tony….we….um, that is, I….well, we've ….um…"

Tony took her hand. He could see whatever it was she had to say was important to her. "Just say it, Abbs. It's me. Tony. You can say anything to me."

She sighed. "I know, it's just….ever since I…got out of the hospital, you've been there for me. Supported me in everything, did anything I wanted or needed. Held me through the nightmares, didn't let me hide from what happened. And that was all great, just all the more reasons I love you. But…..we don't…..I…..you don't…." She was beginning to get nervous, and her hands were going a mile a minute.

Bringing his chair around the table so he was sitting directly next to her, Tony reached out and gently grabbed her hands to stop their flailing about. "It's just you and me here, Abby. After everything we've been through together, you know you can say anything, tell me anything. There's nothing you could ever say or do that would make me stop loving you."

"Then why don't you? " she blurted out. At his confused look, she continued, "why don't you make love to me anymore, Tony?" Before he could deny anything, she rushed on, "we share the same bed, we cuddle, we snuggle, we kiss, but you….you never….you always stop before it gets serious. Don't you want…..I mean, is it because of…..the rape? Do you not….because I'm…dirty?" She couldn't help the tears that tracked silently down her cheek.

"Abigail Sciuto, I don't _ever_ want to hear you say that about yourself _ever_ again, you hear me?" He took her chin and turned her to face him. "You are _not_ dirty. Never have been, never _will_ be. Got it?" Tony waited for her to answer. He gave her a little shake when she didn't. "_Got it_?" She nodded pathetically. He sighed. He didn't want to screw this up. "Remember I told you that I'd had this planned before the whole TFT thing?" He signaled the waiter, who went behind the stage. Abby nodded. "Well, I'd had this idea….remember how you wanted to come to New York to see Android Lust and Brain Matter, but I didn't want you going alone?" Abby nodded. "I got this brilliant idea, to do something special for you, something that you'd never get anywhere else, something that would show you….that I listened to you, that I cared about the things that were important to you. That I loved you. And then you were kidnapped, and it all got put on hold. Lately….well, lately, I felt like something was….not missing, but…that we were…..I can't describe it…."

She squeezed his hands. "I know what you mean. Like, we loved each other, but not….the way we did before."

He looked up at the stage, saw the curtains fluttering, and they heard a band begin tuning up. "Kind of….I just felt like….we needed a reminder. So I set this plan back into action." He caressed her cheek, tears in his eyes. "I never meant to make you feel like I didn't want you….or that I thought you were dirty….you're _not._ You're still the most beautiful, special woman on the planet, and I'm sorry I ever made you feel otherwise. I _love_ you, Sciuto. I didn't….not that I didn't _want_ to make love to you, I did. I _do!_ I just didn't want to hurt you or….scare you, or…"

Abby stopped his talking with a hot, wet kiss. She never even saw the curtain open. Didn't stop kissing him even as the band on stage began to play. It was only after she heard the lead singer's voice that she abruptly stopped and turned to the stage. "_Android Lust_? You got Android Lust? What the hell is that they're singing? That's not their music….."

Tony covered her mouth with his hand. "I know it's not one of their 'regular' tunes, but… I wanted a song to tell you what…how… I feel, since we both know I'm not that great in actually saying the words….."

"Ohhhhh, Tony…..you got my absolute favorite band to not only give a concert just for me….but you also got them to do a sappy love song?" She hugged him tightly, squeezing the breath right out of him. "You're amazing, Tony DiNozzo!"

Abby stood from her seat and planted herself in Tony's lap to listen to the mushy song he'd chosen to express himself. '_Everything I Do (I Do It For You)'_ by Bryan Adams. It was Tony DiNozzo to a 'T,' and she never felt more loved than she did at that moment. Until Tony sang along with the last few lines,

"I'd fight for you, I'd lie for you,

Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you….

You know it's true, that everything I do…

I do it for you."

She was crying. Not sobbing, but crying. And like any guy, Tony wasn't sure what kind of crying it was. "Is this happy tears?" He lost his breath when she plastered her mouth to his.

"_Very_ happy tears!" she said, after the kiss. She didn't even flinch when the band launched into one of their signature songs. "Does this mean, if I asked for something…you'd give it to me?"

Tony squinted. "Within reason." He had to ask Abby to repeat what she'd whispered in his ear again - the band was too loud. At least one part of his body - the very _male_ part of his body - heard her the second time. "Ho-ly….." At that second, Abby's phone rang.

Glancing at the number, Abby grabbed it and answered. "Hey Casey! You would not _believe_ where I am right now…..what? _Yes_, that's Android Lust! My own private concert! What? …. I can't hear you….. Hang on, let me go outside!" She ran outside the theater, followed by Tony. "Now, what's up, little sister? Huh? What do you mean, 'look up'? Me? What am I…" she looked up, dropped the phone, and her mouth dropped open.

There on the marquee, in big, bright red, lighted letters were the words, **"ABBY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?"**

She was quiet for so long that Tony started to worry. He was just about to speak when he was knocked to the ground by a flying Abby, who plastered kisses anywhere she could reach. "I'm guessing….these are…h-happy…kiss-kisses?" he struggled for breath.

"_Very _happy kisses!" She kissed him some more, oblivious to the crowd that was growing around them.

"Well?" yelled a voice from the crowd. "What's the answer, lady?" (This _is_ New York City, after all - what would a proposal be without an interruption?)

Tony's smile beamed up at her from the ground underneath her. "Yeah, lady. What's the answer?"

Abby smiled back down at him. "_Yes!_ Yes, yes, a million times, yes!" The crowd broke into applause as Tony pulled her head back down for a hot kiss full of promise.

When they came back up for air, Tony asked quietly, "did you mean it? I mean, what you told me inside….did you mean it?"

With a wicked gleam in her eye, Abby nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Tony raised an eyebrow, looking hopeful. "Which one, the plaid, or the white granny one?"

She laughed. "Only _you_ would find a white flannel, granny nightgown sexy, DiNozzo!"

He squeezed her butt, pulling her against his hardness. "Well, it's more what's _in_ the flannel, Future Mrs. DiNozzo….." Tony pinched her butt, catching her sexy yip in a kiss. "Let's go try out that nightgown on the silk sheets on the bed in our room…."

With a loving look in her eyes, Abby softly said, "I thought you'd never ask."

_**THE END!**_

_************NCIS****NCIS****NCIS*****NCIS****NCIS****NCIS************_

_**EVERYTHING I DO (I DO IT FOR YOU) by Bryan Adams**_

**Look into my eyes, you will see**

**What you mean to me**

**Search your heart, search your soul,**

**When you find me there, you'll search no more.**

**Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.**

**You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.**

**You know it's true, that everything I do**

**I do it for you.**

**Look into your heart, you will find**

**There's nothing there to hide.**

**Take me as I am. Take my life.**

**I would give it all, I would sacrifice.**

**Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for.**

**I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.**

**Everything I do, I do it for you.**

**There's no love like your love,**

**And no other could give more love.**

**There's nowhere, unless you're there, **

**All the time, all the way.**

**Yeah.**

**You can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.**

**I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.**

**Yeah, I'd fight for you, I'd lie for you,**

**Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you….**

**You know it's true.**

**Everything I do…..oh…I do it for you.**


End file.
